Not Another SI Fic: Part 2
by Enigmatic Magus
Summary: From Denver to Nerima... how will the unstable prefecture handle the newest additions to the fold? Ranma COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma, Sailor Moon, or Ah! My Goddess. Their respective creators own all three, and I get nothing for writing these stories.  
  
No Title A continuation of "Not Another SI Fic!" By: Taiteki Kagato  
  
I awoke with a start, staring at my apartment with wide eyes.  
  
"Makoto?" I said, tentatively. Then it hit me. Last night. A solution. They were. Gone.  
  
With a sigh, I realized I'd have to wait a week for things to fix themselves. I sighed again knowing that, without Makoto's magical protection, my memory would be totally changed, like everyone else. Until then, however.  
  
"What the hell am I supposed to tell our... her... My manager?" I shrugged, then climbed off my bed, feeling the back of my head as I realized it was throbbing somewhat painfully. I grinned slightly at how weird it was that I hadn't noticed until now, but dismissed it, remembering that, when they'd been transported home, I'd been thrown across the room onto my bed, colliding with the armrest it had when it was in its couch-form.  
  
Making my way over to my computer, I looked at some of the things I'd been able to purchase with Makoto's income added to mine, and sighed louder knowing that these, too, would most likely disappear in a weeks time.  
  
I frowned at the closed window, the sound of arguing voices drawing steadily near. For the most part, this neighborhood was quiet, so being able to hear anything outside was rather odd. I also heard a car go by, followed by another.  
  
". Busy day..." I said, checking some of the websites I frequented often. Oddly enough, my broadband was having trouble loading the sites. Turning from the computer in frustration, I noticed the sound of talking outside had failed to diminish, and traffic sounded like traffic, as opposed to the parking lot I was used to.  
  
"What the." I was moving towards the door when I heard a key slide into the lock. Blinking, I watched as my apartment was entered by.  
  
"Oh! Great! You're awake."  
  
".Makoto?" I said, disbelievingly. Then I looked past her, and noticed that southeast Denver had been replaced with.  
  
"Where. Where the hell am I?" I asked, stepping outside to look at the cramped suburbs and large number of Japanese walking around.  
  
"Well. We're not in Denver anymore." Makoto said, shuffling her feet slightly as she stared at the carpet.  
  
". How obvious." I deadpanned, staring out at the city around me.  
  
"Well. we're in-" Makoto started.  
  
"Nerima." I said, softly, my knuckles whitening as the fists I had unconsciously made grew tighter. There, moving south was a purple-haired girl riding a bicycle rooftop-to-rooftop. Collapsing to my knees, I stared at the ground, in shock.  
  
"Kyle? What's. well. It's not all that bad. I had to go through that, too." Makoto said uncertainly.  
  
"Nono. It's not that. I. I." I looked up at her, fear in my eyes. "I suck at using chopsticks!"  
  
Staring out the opened door, I realized Nerima had taken on a decidedly real appearance, compared to the animated version I was used to. Standing up, I turned to Makoto, a slight grin on my face hiding the discomfort I was feeling.  
  
"Well. Where are Nabiki and Mara?"  
  
"Nabiki said she was going home, and Mara, as you can guess, disappeared moments later." I nodded at this, and she frowned, staring at me questioningly.  
  
"Hmm?" I asked, noticing the look.  
  
"Bad with Chopsticks.?" she said, obviously wanting an elaboration on that comment.  
  
"Oh. Umm. Heh. I just... said it, you know? My own little way of dealing with the shock." Makoto nodded at this, my sheepish smile helping clarify my point, and she stepped outside, stretching.  
  
"Nice to be back to summer," she said, the sun shining down on her.  
  
"Heh. Nice. " I said slowly, looking around at the buildings, and wondering how long I'd have to wait before my apartment was destroyed.  
  
"You know. now that we're in a world where magic and stuff can happen," I said, causing Makoto to turn and look at me with a quirked brow," I. hmm... We should go to the Nekohanten and see if Cologne knows about Dimension- Hopping, or whatever it is we're doing."  
  
"Right. Whatever you just said." Makoto replied with a grin.  
  
"No worries. I feel like I'm in an episode of Sliders, or something. Just... without the timer. Sadly enough."  
  
Makoto blinked, then shrugged it off, before turning back to the door, just in time to see Nabiki approach.  
  
"Hey, 'Biki." I said, waving. She frowned, and looked at us, before sighing. "Nobody knows who I am. As far as this place knows, I never existed." She frowned at the visible part of Nerima, then sighed.  
  
"Kind thought as much," I said, both Makoto and Nabiki turning to look at me.  
  
"Do tell." Nabiki said, Makoto nodding at that.  
  
"Umm. Okay. Come inside though, my air conditioner is going to have a fit or something if I keep the door open." Once we were inside, I began, "Basically, after a week in. umm, my world, I suppose, everyone suddenly. remembered you, and we all got those extra memories. The way I see it, after a week passed here, everyone here had the same thing happen, making it like you never existed."  
  
Nabiki and Makoto nodded, Nabiki commenting that she'd come to a similar conclusion.  
  
"Well, lets go see Elder Cologne," I said, this time in Japanese. I smiled when I realized Mara's spell still worked, and moved for the door.  
  
"`Elder' Cologne?" Nabiki asked, both questions quite obvious in the way she'd repeated me.  
  
"Da. I, for one, would rather make a good impression on her, before I drop the bomb that I have three of her training methods for secret Amazon Techniques. As a non-combatant, I don't want to have her mad at me. So I'm going to be nice as I can. make sense?"  
  
"I suppose." Makoto said, though the slight smile on her face made it obvious she agreed with my logic.  
  
Surprisingly, I found my car around the corner, somewhat similar in location to where it had been parked in the real world. After hopping in, the three of us took off, Nabiki giving directions as I slowly made my way around the Ward. Not knowing much about Japanese driving laws, Nabiki had to correct me on a couple changes after I almost ran headfirst into another car on the streets.  
  
Finally we arrived, and I parked my car up the street a bit, in front of one of the vacant lots that were to be found scattered around Nerima. Locking the door, I noticed quite a few people staring at my car, or the three of us, and I grinned sheepishly, knowing my car's model was a little ahead of it's time, and how odd it was to see an American-made vehicle in the middle of a Tokyo Ward.  
  
"Heh." I said, turning to follow Nabiki into the restaurant.  
  
"Welcome to the Nekohanten, valued customer." Mousse said, as we entered. I stared, surprised at meeting an anime character I "knew" in its natural setting. Grinning at how nature-show-ish that sounded, I studied him quickly, the white robes and glasses he was often depicted with matching the mental image I'd used when reading a fanfic featuring him. I also noticed that, while his classes were quite thick, they weren't opaque, and his eyes, while slightly disfigured through the lenses, were intelligent and cautious.  
  
"We're here to see the old-" Nabiki started, before I coughed slightly to remind her of my intentions.  
  
"-err.. Elder. Elder Cologne."  
  
"Ah. Right this way. I'll go get the shriveled monkey."  
  
"That won't be necessary, young man. I'm right here." An aged voice said, the tip of her staff dropping on Mousse's head and sending him to the ground in a heap. "Well well. Nabiki Tendo. What a surprise. Who are your friends?" Cologne said from atop her staff. Nabiki blinked at this, apparently surprised to have been remembered.  
  
"You remember her?" Makoto asked, voicing all of our thoughts. Cologne chuckled slightly, before turning to look at Makoto and respond, "I'm a little old to let some wayward magic affect my memories, young one." Cologne then looked up at me, and quirked a brow, before turning to Nabiki. "Well.?"  
  
"Well what?" Nabiki replied, still recovering from her surprise.  
  
"Your friends?" Cologne supplied, before continuing.  
  
"This one carries herself like a fighter, though not quite as sure of herself as my wayward son-in-law." She stated, pointing towards Makoto.  
  
"And this. Spaniard? Doesn't seem much of a fighter at all, though his nervousness makes anything he does seem a little. off."  
  
"Ah." Nabiki said, looking at Makoto and I before introducing us. I realized, somewhat sadly, that I would have to get used to going by my last name again.  
  
Cologne nodded after the introductions were made, then looked around, before asking the obvious, "so what is it that you want to talk to me about, hmm?"  
  
"Ahh.. Umm.. Elder Cologne." I started. She grinned at that, before correcting me.  
  
"Actually, you can just call me Cologne, seeing as you aren't an Amazon. I do appreciate the attempt at being respectful, however."  
  
"Oh. Right. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about. well... Inter- Dimensional Travel, I suppose." Cologne stared at me, then grinned slightly.  
  
"You're more than an average foreigner, aren't you?" she asked, looking at me a bit harder.  
  
"Heh. You could say that," I replied, glancing at the door.  
  
"Can you prove it?" Cologne asked me, my smile faltering, before growing again.  
  
"You have no idea." I said, turning towards the door. "Coming?" I asked, looking over my shoulder as I pulled my keys out of my pocket.  
  
"One moment, if you would... I have a couple things to take care of. I'll be right out."  
  
Walking over to my car, I leaned against the door, waiting for Cologne to finish whatever she was doing.  
  
"Nice negotiation skills, Kyle." Nabiki said.  
  
"Huh?" I asked, not really seeing how I'd done any negotiating.  
  
"She means the way you hid your nervousness." A voice said from behind me. I jumped slightly, before turning to see Cologne staring at me from atop her staff. "You know, I'd ask how you did that, but I already know what kind of answer I'd get."  
  
Cologne didn't respond, and I opened the door, leaning the driver's seat forward to allow her access.  
  
"I'm pretty sure I can keep up on these streets." She stated.  
  
"Well, I figured you might want to talk along the way. You flew here in an interesting way, so you're no stranger to rides." I responded, still leaving the opened door available to her. She stared at the door, then glanced at Nabiki, who was climbing into the back, before looking at me again.  
  
"If Nabiki trusts you, I suppose I'll accept your offer this time." A moment later, we were pulling away, and I spoke up. "What was so interesting about our conversation, Nabiki?"  
  
"You were visibly nervous, but once you started talking, it disappeared, almost like you'd been faking it at first. I never really noticed it until you did it to someone else."  
  
"Oh... I dunno how... but I've always done that." I stated, truthfully.  
  
"It's a Ki technique." Cologne said in slightly accented English. I swerved slightly, hearing that, before asking what she meant.  
  
"You've managed to push the physical manifestations of being nervous into your aura, instead of showing them openly. Were I not perceptive enough to see it, you would have appeared only somewhat excited. As it was, though, your aura was twisting and writhing much more than it should. A good skill to have, when you aren't talking to a talented martial artist, I'd assume."  
  
"Your grasp of the English language is extremely good," I stated, thinking about what she'd said. Me? Use a Ki Technique?  
  
"Thank you. I didn't spend all my years just sitting around, you know."  
  
"Ahh... Well, it should make things a bit easier." I said, pulling to a stop in front of my apartment.  
  
Entering my apartment, I sighed, glad to be in a place not often found on my Computer Monitor. Cologne had paused in the doorway momentarily, before hopping into the center of the apartment and glancing around at all the wall scrolls adorning my walls. She paused momentarily when looking at the Ranma one, but moved on quickly, before turning to me.  
  
"Your story has a bit more credit, though I've yet to see solid evidence of your claim." I grinned, making my way to my desk and grabbing a spool of CDs.  
  
"Well. There is the fact that I have electronics from post-2000, and my computer is way above anything that should be available. Not to mention my car."  
  
"True. Anything else?"  
  
Pulling out the CD I'd been looking for, I sat down at my computer, smirking slightly as I loaded the CD. A moment later, an episode of Ranma had started up, and Cologne stared as she watched Ukyo's arrival in Nerima. A few minutes later, she spoke up, and I paused the episode.  
  
"You have. more of these?" She asked, some hesitation in her voice.  
  
"Well, yeah. If your worried about your secret Techniques getting out, though, I think the only one that could be duplicated from these is the Amaguriken... Not that trying yielded much." I thought about the bonfire out in the boonies of Florida that my friend and I had joked around about it for a minute or two.  
  
"Oh... I suppose the Bakusai Tenketsu would also be duplicable, if you could find the trees, rope, rocks, and idiot necessary to set it all up."  
  
"You know, knowing what you do is grounds for execution," she said, frowning at me. Makoto jumped between us suddenly, her transformation pen in hand. Cologne quirked a brow at this, then chuckled.  
  
"He's not a fighter, and from what I saw, I'm pretty sure there are thousands of people back where you're from that know all this already. Now, however, I'm curious as to why you hadn't tried and succeeded at any of these techniques."  
  
"Physics. Try the breaking point training on my world, and you'll end up with a rather nastily stained boulder, and an absurd hospital bill." Cologne stared at that, and I just shrugged. "The highest most people can jump is around 2 feet without a running start, and even training, you're not likely to get maybe 3 or 4 or so. Though twisting in the air and stuff could get your feet up pretty high, I suppose."  
  
Cologne wobbled slightly upon her staff, and I grinned, knowing how the thought of such a "weak" world might seem to someone used to the random acts of impossibility that happened here.  
  
"Oh, and there's no magic whatsoever, where I'm from. The first time I ever saw it was after my three. guests."  
  
"Three?"  
  
"Makoto, Nabiki, and Mara." I supplied. During the conversation, Nabiki and Makoto had started another round of Mortal Kombat, and I briefly wondered how the game I'd rented would be returned on time.  
  
"What's this?" She asked, finally, pointing to my shelf of movies. I pulled out "The Matrix" and popped it in, grinning as I loaded up the Kung-Fu scene. She watched with interest for a moment, before nodding softly.  
  
"Quite the imagination you American's can have; at least, the ones from your world. I was, however, speaking of this," she said, pointing with her staff at the photo of Makoto and I at our Marriage Ceremony.  
  
"Ahh. When a week had passed, the universe kind of... re-wrote itself. Makoto stopped it from wiping our real memories, but apparently, when it integrated Makoto and Nabiki into the world, I ended up married to her." I smiled at her, before turning back to Cologne, "Not that I'm complaining, though. She's probably one of the best things to happen to a guy like me." Makoto visibly blushed at that, and my grin grew a little more.  
  
"So you decided to continue the façade, even though you two didn't know each other?"  
  
"Well." Makoto started, stepping over beside me and taking my hand, "I kind of passed out trying to protect the three of us from the. whatever it was, and when we awoke, we had all these new memories, along with the old."  
  
"I see. Must have been a fun wedding night." Cologne said, a little twinkle in her eye. Her smile grew when Makoto and I both visibly blushed. Finally shaking it off slightly, I pointed. "Feel free to stop by if you ever wanna watch a movie. The selections not all that great, but it's a good break from the mundane-ness of real life. not that I think life could get mundane around here."  
  
"I quite agree. I assume you wanted to know about traveling across realities in search of a way to get yourself home?"  
  
"Actually, I'm concerned about getting Makoto here home. Nabiki is home, and Mara, wherever she vanished to, all appeared on my world one night, and I'm hoping they'll get home safely, before I worry about myself."  
  
"How noble. I'll see what I can find on the subject, and get back to you. Feel free to stop by the Nekohanten when you get hungry. The ramen you're currently stocking," she said, pointing to the pantry with obvious distaste, "isn't fit for human consumption."  
  
"Umm. right. I'll have to take you up on that offer as soon as I can get some of my money exchanged."  
  
"Then I'll be off. Thank you for the ride, but I think I'll manage getting back on my own." She opened the door, leaving swiftly.  
  
"Wow." Makoto said, finally.  
  
"Yeah. she really does look like a prune." I stated. Nabiki and Makoto both stared at me, and I shrugged. "Sorry... but she does." 


	2. Chapter 2

Waking up was never one of my strong points, but I was on my feet in an instant when I heard the unmistakable sound of an explosion coming from outside. Makoto was beside me, both of us staring at the door, and trying to make out the garbled voices we could hear, but not understand.  
  
Finally, I pulled the door open slowly, remembering that I wasn't in Denver anymore. Moving down the street were two blurs, one red, and one yellow, and I sighed.  
  
"Ranma and Ryouga. Hell of an alarm clock." I turned from the door, another explosion ringing through the morning air as I closed it behind me. After Cologne had left yesterday, Makoto, Nabiki and I'd talked about Nerima for a bit, warning Makoto about what could be, and learning the basic layout of the prefecture. Since Nabiki wasn't remembered, yet, She'd decided to stay with us until she was remembered at her home. Though she didn't say it, I was pretty sure she was upset about going to see a family she'd not seen in weeks, only to find they'd totally forgotten her.  
  
I turned to look at her, resting on the floor obviously used to Nerima, and I sighed, before turning to Makoto.  
  
"Morning," she said, beating me to it.  
  
"Right back at ya," I quipped, grinning. "What do you want to do today?"  
  
"Hmm... Go out, see the sights. Stuff like that," she said, looking thoughtful. I nodded, feeling similarly. Absently scratching my arm, I glanced at the clock, then the door.  
  
"You want the shower first?" She grinned at me, and I quirked a brow. "Something up?"  
  
"Why don't we shower together?" She said, glancing at the sleeping Nabiki before flashing a much more mischievous grin. I blinked, then glanced at the bathroom door.  
  
"Ahh." I said, uncertainly. "You sure?" She frowned at me, and held up her hand, wiggling her wedding band with her thumb.  
  
"Of course I'm sure. If you used your 'other' memories, you'd know we do this every once in a while." She was right, too. I'd not really thought about it, but she had me. I grinned at her.  
  
"Okay, then. Lets."  
  
A little while later, cleaned and grinning, we emerged from the apartment, deciding to let Nabiki sleep in as long as she'd like. Remembering where she'd stated some of the more prominent attractions in Nerima were, we set off for the business district, hoping to convert some of our Dollars to Yen. Noticing a construction crew filling a rather impressive hole in the street, I frowned slightly, thinking about the danger living here could be.  
  
"Something on your mind?" Makoto asked, noticing my frown. I nodded, pointing.  
  
"Ryouga's Baksai Tenketsu, if I had to guess. Probably the cause of that explosion we heard this morning."  
  
"That Breaking Point Technique? Man, if it's that powerful, I wish I could learn it. It might have proved useful against some of our foes." I snorted at that.  
  
"Hardly. It only works on inanimate objects, like rocks, and learning it... well. I like you the way you are, thankyouverymuch." Makoto shot me a funny look, and I shrugged.  
  
"You're tied into a harness, and swung into an oncoming boulder until you learn to spot, and make use of the boulders breaking point."  
  
She blanched, and I grinned slightly. "Yeah. Painful. My best analogy would be 'like getting shot until you learn to duck.'" Makoto grinned uneasily at that, before pointing.  
  
"There's a bank," she said, before taking my hand in hers. Unfortunately, as we got closer, we realized it wasn't yet open for business. Turning away, we started off, only to spot a girl with short black hair heading our way. Akane Tendo looked about as threatening as any other schoolgirl, though I knew better than to get on her bad side. Squeezing Makoto's hand gently, I called out to her.  
  
"Akane Tendo?" She stopped, and looked at me, a puzzled frown on her face.  
  
"Do I. know you?" She asked, looking at the two of us, as if sizing us up. I relaxed as much as I could, and smiled a little.  
  
"No, no, I don't think so. I just thought I recognized you, and thought I'd see if I was right. Nice to meet you." She looked at me, the frown faltering before she shrugged and looked at Makoto.  
  
"Oh! Sorry. This is Makoto, my. Wife, and I am Kyle."  
  
"Nice to meet you Kyle-san, Makoto-san." She bowed, and after seeing Makoto return the bow, I copied her as best I could, wishing my knowledge of the language had also included knowledge of the culture.  
  
"Umm... You can just call me Kyle, if you want. I'm not much of a '-san' if you know what I mean." I chuckled nervously, hoping I wasn't insulting her by dismissing a cultural custom. Apparently, living with Ranma had loosened her views on customs, because she smiled lightly, and nodded.  
  
"If you say so."  
  
"Thanks." I said, relieved.  
  
"Umm. is there anything I can do for you? I'm kind of out shopping for my older sister, and..." she looked at the basket in her hand, and the list resting on the bread inside. I shook my head slowly, hiding my surprise behind a goofy grin.  
  
"Nope, nope. Nice meeting you, Akane." I said, then frowned, realizing I'd spoken in English. I repeated myself in Japanese, realizing to my chagrin that I'd have to concentrate if I was to keep from slipping back to my natural language.  
  
Akane, on the other hand, looked at me as if I'd grown a third eye. "You can speak English?"  
  
"Umm.. yeah. Most Americans can." I said with a smile, so she wouldn't take offense at the sarcasm.  
  
"Can. Could you." she started, shifting from foot to foot somewhat nervously. However, whatever she was about to say was interrupted as a boy with irksomely familiar features literally dropped in on us.  
  
"Akane! Kasumi said you'd be here. Who's this?" Ranma said, glancing at us with a somewhat-interested expression.  
  
"Ranma, don't be rude! This is Kyle, and his wife, Makoto." Ranma nodded, then looked at me for a moment, before holding out his hand. I grinned, and took it, shaking briefly.  
  
"Heh. Me and Pops traveled a lot before coming here, so I figured you'd like that better than bowing." Ranma said, nonchalantly.  
  
"Cool." I said in English, before continuing in Japanese, "After hearing so much about you, It's nice to finally meet you, face to face." Ranma frowned a bit at that, and glanced at Akane, who would smile at me one second, then turn to frown at Ranma.  
  
"Depending on who told you what, make sure what you've heard about me is true." He said. I nodded, grinning a little before turning to Akane.  
  
"What was it you wanted to ask me, Akane?" Said girl seemed a little surprised by my sudden switch of conversation partners, and took a moment to respond.  
  
"Oh! I was wondering. well. I. err. Ranma! Ranma needs help with his English, and I thought you might be able to help him." I blinked at that, looking at Ranma, who's wide-eyed stare was actually comical in nature.  
  
"Umm. I suppose I could. but only if Ranma wants the help."  
  
"What? More School? Forg-" whatever else he meant to say was cut off as an elbow buried itself in his gut.  
  
"Of course he does! And I'll be there to help!" Akane said cheerfully.  
  
"Ranma?" I asked, my brow quirked.  
  
".Sure. whatever." he said, apparently trying to gain back the wind Akane'd knocked out of him.  
  
"Well. I suppose I could do it. I'll stop by the. err. Tendo Dojo, later, to set up a schedule or something." Akane nodded, and Makoto and I turned to go, saying goodbye to the betrothed couple. Hearing Ranma mutter something, and Akane respond heatedly, I sped up, hoping to avoid getting caught up in the escalating argument.  
  
"That," Makoto said, after we'd walked a block, "was interesting." I nodded, moving closer to Makoto and putting my arm around her. She did the same, and we walked onward, seeing Nerima up close and personally, as opposed to seeing it from a comfortable chair.  
  
An hour and a half later Makoto and I found ourselves outside Uchan's Okonomiyaki, and some of our currency exchanged to the local variety. My stomach growled, and I turned to Makoto.  
  
"Shall we?"  
  
"We shall."  
  
Grinning dumbly at her for a moment, I took her hand, and we entered, the smell of. something cooking noticeable even in the morning.  
  
"Good morning!" Ukyo said, and I nodded, before looking at Makoto. Prior to this fiasco, Ukyo had been one of my favorite anime girls, and, while I was now married to Makoto, the memories I had from my 'real' life still remembered how much I'd enjoyed Ukyo-centric fics. While Ukyo and Makoto both looked somewhat similarly at a glance, I realized they didn't look as alike as I'd often thought in the past, and grinned at the pointless realization. Ukyo was cute, I supposed, but after being married to Makoto, there really wasn't much of a contest.  
  
"What can I get for you two today?" Ukyo said, smiling at us as we sat down at the bar.  
  
"Hmm.." I said, glancing over the list of toppings. "Well. Japanese Pizza, as everyone says." I muttered in English. Shrugging, I pointed, "I suppose I'll have sausage."  
  
Makoto ordered a special, and Ukyo nodded, before her hands became a blur over the grill. I watched, a little surprised even though I knew what to expect, as the two Okonomiyaki took shape. A moment later, a grinning chef placed two steaming plates before Makoto and I, and I looked at my food.  
  
"You know. I wish Dominos were this fast. I'd still be on hold if I were calling in a delivery."  
  
Makoto chuckled, before biting into her. Here eyes widened, and she turned to Ukyo, who'd walked around to join us at the bar. Swallowing hastily, "It's good!" she exclaimed, before quickly working on the rest.  
  
I stared at mine, before tentatively taking a bite. Ukyo watched me with interest, and I smiled at her lightly before I started to chew. Blinking, I swallowed the bite, finally, before turning to Makoto.  
  
"This... doesn't taste anything like Pizza." I said, frowning. Ukyo looked at me quizzically, before asking if I didn't like it.  
  
"Like it? Hell, it's great! But it's nothing like the pizza it's compared to." I took another bite, finishing it quickly.  
  
"I suppose the sauce could vaguely compare to a Totino's.. kind of like a white horse looks like a zebra if you squint and tilt your head to the side."  
  
Ukyo seems unsure about what to say to that, and Makoto snorted before taking another bite.  
  
"No offense, Ukyo. Honestly, it's really good. Before this, the only redeeming food I thought Japan had to offer was Sushi."  
  
Ukyo grinned at that, then frowned in thought. Finally, "You're an American, then?"  
  
"You've got it. What gave it away, my accent?"  
  
"Actually, you speak Japanese like it's your first language. But you can't be Japanese and have only had sushi." I nodded at this, then cocked my head to the side.  
  
"Why do you ask?" I inquired, taking another bite.  
  
"We have a test coming up in English, and I'd prefer to be a little better at it than I am, currently," she said, matter-of-factly. I nodded, before looking around.  
  
"Where's Konatsu?" I asked, not spotting the boy-girl ninja thing. Ukyo looked at me somewhat suspiciously, before commenting. "You're informed, for someone new to the area."  
  
"You have no idea. I only ask because if you could have him watch the store, we're heading over to the Tendo Dojo to discuss tutoring with Ranma and Akane."  
  
"Ran-chan actually asked for a tutor?" Ukyo said, surprised.  
  
"Umm. no," I said, knowing how ludicrous Ranma asking for a tutor sounded.  
  
"Then why.?"  
  
"Akane asked... but she must have felt uncomfortable, because she kind of dumped it on Ranma, who was standing nearby. Still, if I go through with this, I'm sure I can get him interested."  
  
"Oh?" Makoto asked, her plate all but licked clean.  
  
"Yeah... just think of all those CDs." I said, watching her eyes widen in understanding. Ukyo frowned at that, looking at us oddly.  
  
"You think Ran-chan will learn English with music?" She asked, skeptically.  
  
"Trust me. you'll see. Coming?" I stood, chewing the last bite, and handing Ukyo a bill. She stared at it with a frown, and I realized I'd trued to use a Twenty. "Oops!" Reaching into my pocket, I grabbed a couple bills with large numbers on them, and handed them to her. "Keep the change." I said, smiling.  
  
"Ahh. right. Konatsu's at the store, but when he gets back, I'll stop on by." I nodded and waved, heading out the door and towards the Dojo, hoping I'd be able to find it.  
  
"Awful familiar with these people." Makoto commented. I cringed slightly, before trying to play it off.  
  
"You've no idea how long I've wanted to mess around in the affairs of these people." Makoto looked at me, then tried again, "Awfully familiar with Ukyo." Busted. I sighed, and stopped, looking at her with my most roguish grin. I knew it had no effect on her, but using it made me feel better.  
  
"Before you came into my life, Ukyo was one of my favorite. umm. favorites. Yeah. I guess the 'me' that lived like that is kind of excited to actually meet her. My 'married' memories, however... and my other ones, now that they're getting used to it, loves you, though. You have nothing to fear there. Besides, She's got eyes for Ranma, and Ranma only. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't have a chance."  
  
Makoto looked at me, totally serious. "You promise?"  
  
"All of it." I said, holding up my hand. She grinned then, before turning to walk towards where we hoped the Dojo was.  
  
"Next time we get the apartment to ourselves, you're going to prove that to me," she said, her back turned. I nodded nervously, before breaking into a rather goofy grin and walking to catch up to her. 


	3. Chapter 3

Staring at the building before me, I wasn't quite sure how to react. I'd certainly wondered   
what I would do if confronting the inhabitants, but now that I was here all speculation was   
pretty much thrown out the window. The Tendo Dojo. Fear, excitement, loathing, all sorts of   
emotions warred for dominance in the time it took to blink, and I most likely would have kept   
standing there staring had Makoto not spoken. It took a moment for me to realize she was   
speaking to me.   
  
"Huh... what?" I asked, ever so eloquently.   
  
"I asked if something was wrong," she repeated, a slight frown upon her face.   
  
"Ahh… Um, nope. Just a little stunned to be here." I said, a nervous chuckle betraying my   
conflicting emotions. Fortunately, Makoto didn't press, and we continued in, heading towards   
the door. I briefly considered going around to the Dojo proper like the oft-ignored sign said,   
but, as I had no intention of having my ass handed to me, I approached the front door of the   
Household, and knocked twice.   
  
Makoto's hand in mine, we waited momentarily, before Soun Tendo opened the door.   
Surprised to be confronted by Akane's father as opposed to her oldest sister, I gaped, before   
Makoto nudged me gently to say something.   
  
"Ahh… Mr. Tendo? I'm Kyle. Your daughter asked me to stop by sometime and see about   
some English tutoring?" I said, somewhat nervously.   
  
"Oh. Akane said something about that. Please, come in, I'll go get my little girl." With that, he   
disappeared, calling out for Akane. Makoto and I glanced at each other before we stepped into   
the house.   
  
It was readily apparent that, without Nabiki to bring in funds, the reserved house was even   
more Spartan in appearance that I remember from the Anime and Manga. Fortunately, a week   
from now everything should be somewhat back to normal. From a doorway to the left I heard   
the gentle clatter of dishes, and assumed Kasumi was in the kitchen.   
  
A moment later, Makoto yelped as I squeezed her hand painfully.   
  
"Kyle! Makoto! I wanted to surprise you when you got here, so I decided to make you some   
Cookies!" Akane said, emerging from the kitchen with a smoking tray.   
  
"Akane, how thoughtful! You shouldn't have," Makoto said, eyeing the tray, but unaware of   
the danger it truly represented.   
  
"Hmm. Do you have a bag? Makoto and I just finished stuffing ourselves at the Uchan's, but   
we could definitely use a snack for later," I said. At the Mention of Ukyo's place, Akane's smile   
faltered, but grew again as Makoto reached out to take one. My grip tightened, and Makoto   
glared at me as she picked the cookie up. Fortunately, something saved my wife from her   
suicidal friendliness.   
  
"Don't eat that!" a rather worried-looking redhead shouted, knocking the cookie out of   
Makoto's hand. It arched towards a window, and, amazingly, landed in the mouth of a   
surprised looking panda that had just opened the door.   
  
"Pops... it was nice knowing ya." Ranma-chan said. The panda, it's eyes growing larger by the   
minute, growled once, then began making elaborate choking gestures and gurgling noises as it   
flailed about on the floor.   
  
Makoto, having been forewarned about the curse, but not Akane's cooking (another curse   
altogether) was unsure how to react, so she simply stared, as did I. Akane, however.   
  
"Ranma, you jerk! Just because you can't appreciate fine cooking doesn't mean you have to   
go spoil it for our guests! "   
  
"Fine cooking?" Ranma-chan shouted, " Look at that. Your 'cookies' are eating through the   
cookie sheet!" And they were. One fell to the floor, the sizzling remnants of the metal sheet   
bubbling on the ground beside it. I noticed Makoto trying to discreetly wipe her hand on her   
pants, a rather nervous grin on her face. The panda had stopped rolling around, but a sign   
asking someone to call poison control wobbled slightly in the unconscious pandas limp paw.   
  
"Ahh. Actually, it's okay. I've got some cookie dough back at my apartment. Maybe later we   
can stop by there, and I'll make some?" Ranma, Makoto, and Akane blinked at me, and I   
nervously took a step back, prepared to say more, when someone else came to the rescue.   
  
"Oh! I didn't know we had guests over. I'll go make some tea."   
  
As we all watched Kasumi disappear into the kitchen, I realized how appropriate those anime-  
sweat drops were. Akane was the first to react, taking the now-hole-y cookie sheet into the   
kitchen. Ranma, Makoto and I continued to stare as we heard what went on in there.   
  
"I'll help you clean, big sister!"   
  
"Oh, that's all right Akane. I'll get it."   
  
"Then I'll make some tea! Here."   
  
"That's fertilizer, Akane."   
  
"Oh? My mistake. I guess I should put this away."   
  
"What were you using that in, Akane?"   
  
"Oh, this? Cookies. It smells nice, so I thought it would enhance the flavor."   
  
"Drain cleaner does have a... unique odor."   
  
"Drain cleaner? What was that doing in with the spices?"   
  
"Akane, that's abrasive powder."   
  
"Oh. And this?"   
  
"Oh my, is that a Bio-hazard symbol?"   
  
"Are you sure you don't need any help, Kasumi?"   
  
"Yes, Akane, I'm fine. You should see what your friends want though, it's rude to ignore your   
guests."   
  
"Oh! Kyle and Makoto! I forgot. Thanks, Kasumi. Sorry about the mess."   
  
Akane exited with a smile, briefly pausing to frown at Ranma. The three of us were simply   
staring, Makoto continually rubbing her hand on her pants absently.   
  
"Are you two okay?" Akane finally asked. Then she turned to Ranma, "What'd you do to them,   
Ranma? They can't help with our English studies if you alienate them!"   
  
"Do... huh?" Ranma responded. Wondering how to stop this situation from escalation, I   
opened my mouth to say something, but Makoto beat me to it.   
  
"We win! Sorry Akane, Ranma challenged us to a staring contest, and he just lost. Thanks for   
your help!" I shot a questioning look at Makoto, my action mirrored by Ranma, while Akane   
grinned at her fiancé.   
  
"Heh. Guess Mr. Wonderful can't win everything, eh?" Ranma frowned at that, and opened her   
mouth to say something, but Makoto's brief scowl made him close it again, slowly.   
  
"So, would you two be willing to tutor Ranma and I? I know it's a sudden request, but Ranma   
could use it, and it couldn't hurt to get a little help myself." I blinked at that, then shrugged.   
  
"I've got no real problem with it. However, There's another person we'd be training with you   
two."   
  
"Oh?" Akane asked, frowning slightly.   
  
"Hello? Ran-chan? Akane?" A voice called from outside. I grinned slightly to myself. The timing   
here is great, when it isn't something dangerous or deadly.   
  
After Ukyo'd joined us, I pointed at the door, hoping to get things going before an argument   
broke out between the natives.   
  
"If I'm going to tutor you,' I said, walking out the door, "We're going to do it at my place,   
where I have plenty of stuff to use as… reference materials."   
  
"Shouldn't we get our books?" Ukyo asked, frowning. I scoffed, turning to Makoto, with a sight   
scowl on my face.   
  
"Bah. English, not Engrish. I don't half-ass things if I can help it. Your books will help you read   
English… maybe. Stick with me, and I'll have you speaking conversational English so well…   
umm... it'll be... really... good." I finished lamely.   
  
"Uh-huh." Ranma said, sounding unconvinced.   
  
"Trust us." Makoto said, turning to flash them a smile I often used to disarm confrontational   
people.   
  
"You seem to have taken Ran-chan's curse in stride, Kyle-san," Ukyo finally said. Since we   
were walking on the street, as opposed to hopping from rooftop to rooftop, she'd finally   
decided to start a conversation.   
  
"Hey, she's right! I don't remember telling you about it!" Ranma-chan said, suspicion in her   
voice.   
  
"Trust me when I say that little could surprise me here, information-wise."   
  
"That... doesn't really answer much." Akane said, slowly.   
  
"When we get back, Kyle and I will show you how we know. Though, you ought to be ready,   
it's going to be a shock."   
  
"Do you two practice magic?" Ranma asked, a hint of hope creeping into her voice.   
  
"No… err... nothing that would benefit you, I'm afraid. But I suppose in a way we kind of do.   
Makoto more than me, though." Ranma grunted at that, and I grinned, knowing I'd keep the   
surprise a surprise after all. Finally, we rounded a corner, and I came face to face with…   
  
"Akane! Pig-Tailed Girl! What deity smiles upon me so to bless me with your presence? And   
yet, I see a third beauty has joined your humble group, no doubt on your way to declare your   
love to me. The very heavens weep at your wrongful imprisonment by the fiend Saotome!"   
  
"Great." Akane said, rolling her eyes.   
  
"Huh?" Makoto asked, unsure of what to make of that.   
  
"Why you stupid..." Ranma-chan started.   
  
"What a loser." Ukyo said, though not sounding too surprised.   
  
"Ehh... Excuse me..." I started, before suddenly finding myself looking down the length of a   
bokken.   
  
"And who would you be, low-born foreigner, to attempt walking so close to my three loves?"   
Before I could stop myself I'd grabbed the bokken, while his head was turned skyward, and   
snatched it out of his hand.   
  
"Three loves?" I said, looking down at the bokken angrily. Grabbing it in both hands, I swiftly   
brought it down across my knee, snapping it in two. Kuno stood gaping for a moment, unsure   
how to handle the loss. Before he could squeeze out more of a response, I'd clipped him in the   
side of the head with one peace, before tossing both into a nearby dumpster.   
  
"Try hitting on my wife again, stick boy, and I'll run your ass over. Repeatedly." I turned, and   
started walking again, my fists balled up in nervous rage. Fighting Kuno wasn't a bright idea   
for someone of my limited skill, and I was certain he'd be out for my blood as soon as he   
stopped staring out into space.   
  
"You know, for someone with no Martial Arts skills, that wasn't very smart," Ranma said after   
overcoming the shock at how fast Kuno had been disabled. Ukyo voiced an agreement, and I   
shrugged, continuing towards my apartment, which was around the next corner. Akane and   
Makoto kept quiet, and Ranma, after turning back to grin at Kuno, who was still standing there   
frozen, shrugged, and followed.   
  
Opening the door, I noticed Nabiki sitting at the computer and sighed, glad to know we   
wouldn't be waking her up. Akane and Ranma, however, frowned upon seeing her, and Nabiki   
quirked a brow at me as we all entered.   
  
"Not very good at keeping a low profile, there, Kyle."   
  
"What's she doing here?" Akane asked, stressing the 'she.'   
  
"Yeah, you aren't... aren't..." Ranma trailed off as he managed to spot my Ranma wall scroll   
and simply stared.   
  
"Ran-chan? Wha... oooh. Where can I get one of those?"   
  
I grinned and flipped my Futon into a couch, briefly ignoring my guests as I pushed it over   
towards the computer.   
  
"Everyone have a seat, and I'll start explaining," I said, pointing to the couch.   
  
"I don't know, this is kind of… weird." Ukyo said, looking around and noticing a lot of things   
she must have found unrecognizable.   
  
Makoto pulled the folding chair out of the closet, and set it down, before sitting in it. Then she   
looked at them, and shrugged.   
  
"How about this, then? We'll start with a question and answer session, so you can ask   
whatever questions you have on your mind. Does that sound reasonable?"   
  
Akane blinked, glanced at Nabiki, then turned to Ranma. "I don't know." Ranma, however,   
didn't bother sitting, and simply started asking questions. Pointing at the wall scroll, "What the   
hell is that?" she asked.   
  
"That is a wall scroll. My friend gave it to me for a favor." Ranma frowned at that, then   
shouted "That's now what I meant!"   
  
"It's you, as seen by the people of my world, where all that," I pointed at the door, " is a work   
of fiction."   
  
"What?" Akane asked, wide-eyed.   
  
"It's like this; you're all characters in a story where he… we're from." Makoto said, looking for   
any other Ranma things I had stashed around the apartment.   
  
"And her?" Ukyo asked, pointing at Nabiki. The way she watched Makoto, however, told me   
she'd come back to her slipup.   
  
"I'm from here, too. Like I said. But you'll have to wait a week before you remember," Nabiki   
said, from my desk chair.   
  
"Riight… you have anything other than a poster of an animated me to prove it?"   
  
"Of course! How else would I teach you proper English? Nabiki? The Ranma CDs, if you would,   
disc one. Anyone want some Coke, or a glass of water? Oh! Before I forget." I walked into the   
mini-kitchen, and got Ran the water for a moment, letting it heat. Finally, I filled a glass, and   
handed it to Ranma-chan, pointing to the bathroom.   
  
"You can change in there, there's a towel on the rack, if you want to dry up a bit."   
  
"Ahh… thanks, I think." Ranma said, entering the bathroom. A moment later a restored   
Ranma walked out, drying his hair in the towel I'd mentioned.   
  
"Thanks. I wish I could get hot water that quickly more often."   
  
"Eh, stop by anytime. I'll see about getting you a key so you can let yourself in when I'm not   
here."   
  
"Really? That'd be...well... great. But first you have to prove you are what you say you are."   
  
"Sure, sure. Nabiki?" I said, pulling a 6-pack out of the fridge. Handing them out, I watched as   
the three of them watched the opening in fascination.   
  
"Is that…" Ukyo asked, ignoring the cold can in her hand entirely.   
  
"My hair." Akane said, quietly.   
  
"Hah! Look at pops!" Ranma said, laughing. "What's this?" He asked, holding up the Coke.   
  
"Coke. See, you pull on the tab like this-"   
  
"I know how to open it. I've never seen this drink before. Coke?"   
  
"Ehh... without the 'u' on the end, there. One of the tricks of English."   
  
Ranma tried again, and I nodded as he slowly said it, omitting the 'u' at the end. I nodded,   
took a sip, and pointed at the screen with the top of the can. Ranma turned to see the opening   
fight in the streets between him and his father. A moment later.   
  
"Hey! They're speaking in English!" Akane cried, surprised.   
  
"Does that surprise you? Not everyone can understand Japanese," Nabiki said, idly.   
  
"Yeah, but the theme song was in Japanese," Ranma protested.   
  
"Remind me in the future to show you what happened to Tenchi in regards to that." I   
muttered.   
  
"Huh? Tenchi?" Ukyo asked, confused.   
  
"Another story." Makoto offered, watching as Akane and Ranma-chan sparred onscreen.   
  
"Am I anywhere on here?" Ukyo asked, a couple minutes later, wincing as a table hit Ranma. I   
shrugged, then moved over to take the mouse. Nabiki glanced at me, then sighed, scooting   
over so I could use the keyboard as well. Closing the current movie, I searched for a moment,   
before finding the Anime Music Video of Akane's 'Baka song' from the Calendar CD. Before   
pressing play, however, I turned to them, grinning somewhat nervously.   
  
"This is a bit... umm… 'harsh,' but it covers quite a few adventures of you all, so…"   
  
I pressed play, wondering how Akane would handle hearing her singing, and seeing how often   
Ranma got beat up. Akane grinned a little, the words obviously striking her as being accurate,   
though she looked a little sad at some of her more violent outbursts. Ukyo looked somewhat   
ashamed at the scene where she slapped Ranma for calling her cute, then scowled as he   
bounced off her head. Ranma, however, sunk lower and lower into the couch, his face a mix of   
surprise, outrage, shame, and humility.   
  
"Fa-fast forward through this part! In fact, never play this again!" He cried at the end, where   
he was wrapped up in a hospital bed. I stifled a laugh, then sighed.   
  
"So! Any questions?"   
  
"She," Akane said, pointing at Nabiki, " Was in those… but I don't remember her. It's just   
been Kasumi and I, until Ranma arrived."   
  
"Ah, right… about that. Umm, our theory is, basically, that the multiverse alters history to   
avoid a paradox."   
  
"Huh?" Ranma asked. I sighed.   
  
"After a week, the universe kind of... re-writes itself, so the missing or added people are   
somewhere in history."   
  
"Oh."   
  
"So where are you from?" Ukyo asked, looking at Makoto.   
  
"Another Story." She said, quietly. I snorted slightly at the accidental reference to one of the   
Sailor Moon SNES games.   
  
"So how are you married to him?" Akane asked, glancing at me somewhat suspiciously.   
  
"The re-write altered time, so we had married in the past. In the new memories, we were so   
happy together, that, even with out 'real' memories, we just decided to keep going."   
  
"Oh. That's... a unique way of doing it." Ukyo said, frowning.   
  
"So what story are you." Akane started, trailing off as she spotted my Sailor Moon Figurines   
besides Makoto's Bonsai Tree. She moved over and picked up the Sailor Jupiter, then looked   
at Makoto, quirking a brow. "Is this..."   
  
Makoto nodded, blushing slightly. I ducked into the kitchen for a quick snack, then turned,   
only to find Ranma behind me.   
  
"Ah! Something I can help you with?" I asked, surprised. He looked at the sink, then at me.   
  
"How does this thing work?" I showed him, and watched as he felt the cool water quickly heat   
up as he held his hand under the faucet. The look on his face was so ecstatic I worried he   
might give me a hug or something. Thankfully, he nodded, shut the faucet off, and left,   
sipping his Coke.   
  
"So... anymore questions?" The three of them looked at the three of us, before Ranma spoke   
up again.   
  
"Are you going to use the… uhh... 'Ranma Anime' to teach us English?"   
  
"Yeah. Is there a prob- oh. Oh! Good thinking." I said, remember Ryouga.   
  
"Huh? But it's a good Idea!" Ranma said, frowning. I sighed, then waved him over. He took a   
couple hesitant steps, and when he stood between Akane and I, I quietly mouthed "Ryouga."   
He frowned, then blinked in surprise, before nodding.   
  
"Well, how do you intend to..?" Ukyo asked, having caught my message to Ranma. I   
shrugged, looking at my rack of DVDs. Sighing, I sad down on the chair Nabiki had just   
vacated, before looking at my computer.   
  
"Lets find out what you know, first, and then we'll work on what needs to be worked on." The   
three of them nodded at that, and I brought up notepad so I could write down their strengths   
and weaknesses.   
  
I was about to ask them about their experience with the alphabet when a sudden flash   
erupted from the back of the room, and we all turned to see Mara standing there, grinning.   
  
"Ahh. Mara. Nice to see you alive and in one piece." Mara frowned at me, then shrugged.   
  
"I suppose it's good that you're awake and all. Who are your... friends?" She asked, grinning   
at Ranma. I turned, and noticed Ranma was in a rather serious-looking fighting stance, Akane   
and Ukyo behind him, not quite ready to attack, but looking somewhat prepared.   
  
"Ranma! She's not going to attack you!" I said, frowning.   
  
"Are you kidding? She's got evil rolling off her in waves! The Old Freak would think twice   
before groping her."   
  
"Actually, if we're thinking of the same 'old freak,' then no, he didn't. And he's paying for it."   
Mara grinned as she said that, then walked into the kitchen, rummaging around in the fridge,   
before pulling out a Coke.   
  
"So… where've you been?" I asked, wondering how long it would take Ranma to lighten up.   
  
"Around. There's quite a bit of magic here on this world, and after all I wasted in your pathetic   
reality, I had to spend a day recharging. Thankfully, an Oni showed me a good focal point of   
negative energy. Who knew a guy could be so depressed, or lost, so easily."   
  
I snorted at that, a quiet but noticeable chuckle from Nabiki letting me know she understood   
as well.   
  
"Well, these are my… um… pupils, I suppose."   
  
"Ranma Saotome, of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. Don't try anything, or you'll   
regret it."   
  
Mara grinned at him, then glanced at me.   
  
"Can I have some fun with him?" Ukyo and Akane both growled at that, and Mara's eyes   
widened in surprised. "Taken, eh?"   
  
"Say, Mara, could you give them the ability to speak English, like you did for Nabiki and I?"   
Makoto asked, looking thoughtful. Ranma, Akane, and Ukyo all turned to stare at Makoto in   
surprise, then somewhat pleadingly at Mara.   
  
"Sorry, Kids. The place we came from it was no problem, but something here is blocking me   
from doing a lot of things. It feels like back home, with wish-granting, only someone forgot to   
turn the granting part on."   
  
"You grant wishes?" Ranma asked, awe replacing the suspicion in his voice.   
  
"Used to. Demoness First Class Mara of the Rival Relief Office, at your... well, hindrance, I   
suppose."   
  
"Demoness?" Akane asked, eyes growing wide.   
  
"That's what I said. Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a delusional fool who called me a   
goddess, and now that I've regained my composure, I need to ensure he knows the truth."   
Before she could disappear, however, I called out for her to wait. She turned to frown at me,   
crossing her arms.   
  
"Ahh, Do you know of any non-cursed wish-granting items around the area? I need to set a   
couple things up before one week is up." She frowned, then shrugged.   
  
"If I see anything like that, I'll try to remember you." Then she disappeared. I sighed, then   
turned to Ranma and friends.   
  
"She's not all that bad, once you get over her affiliation with hell and all. I think. Anyway. I   
think that should conclude our introductions today. Tomorrow, if you still want my tutelage,   
stop by. Umm... Ukyo, can we use your place? That way you can work, and learn. Or   
something." Ukyo nodded, and I opened the door for them.   
  
"Ahh... thanks for the Coke." Ukyo said, as she walked out the door.   
  
"See you tomorrow, Ukyo."   
  
"Thanks for the… umm... history lesson, I suppose." Akane said, walking out the door looking   
somewhat confused.   
  
"It's all good, Akane, I've got some other surprises you'd probably enjoy." Makoto quirked a   
brow at me, and I shrugged, holding my hand out to stop Ranma.   
  
"Huh?"   
  
"One minute, Ranma. I need to talk to you about a couple things, and it'll be easier if you   
catch up."   
  
"Umm… okay. There were a couple things I wanted to ask you all, as well."   
  
"I assumed as much. Have a seat," I said, closing the door.   
  
After Ranma sat down, I plopped into my desk chair, then shrugged.   
  
"Look, Ranma. I'm not trying to cause trouble, and I know why you aren't telling Akane about   
Ryouga, but I think the best way to teach you English is letting you learn from what you   
remember."   
  
"But."   
  
"Trust me, I don't want Akane to find out. You'll be in just as much hot water as Ryouga, for   
hiding it so long, despite all the times you've all but said it to her face." Ranma gave a   
humorless grunt, his arms crossed.   
  
"So what do you intend to do? Cover her eyes?"   
  
"No, I figure we'll watch up to the first episode where Ryouga is introduced. Then we can   
switch to something else. See those?" I asked, pointing to my DVDs. He nodded, ad I   
continued, "Those are all movies, and all the ones to the left are Anime. They also have both   
English and Japanese, so I can use that to help you learn by comparison."   
  
"And on the right?"   
  
"American Movies. When you all've done a good job, I'll reward you with them, or something.   
You'd enjoy Die Hard and The Matrix." Ranma blinked at that, and I shrugged. Not all the   
Anime was dubbed right, but I could iron out those problems with a little work. With Nabiki   
and Makoto also speaking both fluently, I was pretty sure the three of us could help the three   
of them quickly. I glanced at Ranma, then quirked a brow, "you said you had questions?"   
  
"Yeah. What's this going to cost, first off."   
  
"Umm… good question. From you, maybe some Martial Arts lessons, or something. I could   
always use help there." Ranma's quick nodding made me raise a brow. "Something wrong?"   
  
"Well, you're right about needing the lessons, now that Kuno's going to be gunning for you.   
You seem to have a little skill, nothing high, or really noticeable, but more than just an   
average person."   
  
"Heh. I took Tae Kwon Do in Junior High for a year or so… and a couple weeks of Kung Fu   
before I moved to Denver."   
  
"Riight. Well, it's not trained, but at least you have reflexes, though at the moment, you don't   
seem to know how to use them. I'll find out more later." I nodded at that, then looked at the   
clock on my desk.   
  
"Anything else?"   
  
"What are you going to charge Akane and Ukyo?"   
  
"Food from Ukyo, probably. Akane... well. I doubt she has much money, and I know how   
dangerous her cooking is. You've got her beat in Martial Arts. I'll have to think of something, I   
suppose. Maybe use of the Dojo for training. I can work that out with Mr. Tendo or something,   
though." I shrugged.   
  
"I'll talk to Mr. Tendo for you. I don't know about Akane or Uuchan, but I'll be back."   
  
"I'm sure you will."   
  
After Ranma left, I sighed. Makoto came up behind he and rested her head on my shoulder.   
  
"Something wrong?"   
  
"Everything's nuts here. Lets home my apartment, at least, retains its 'island of stability'   
atmosphere, if not its sanity."   
  
"Or yours?"   
  
"Feh, I'm already nuts. Screwing with Kuno like that. What the hell was I thinking?"   
  
"About me."   
  
"Too true. Glad he didn't expect this 'foreigner' to take action."   
  
"If you two want to be like that," Nabiki said from behind us, " I'll be going out for a bit. Don't   
break the... crossbars." With a chuckle, she shut the door, and I turned to look at Makoto,   
'Like that?' dying on my lips as I realized she was only in her underwear.   
  
"Huh?"   
  
"You've a promise to keep. So don't keep me waiting."   
  
"Ahh… right." 


	4. Chapter 4

With a groan, I sat up, slipping from under Makoto's arm and glaring at the door. Said   
door was currently being knocked upon, and I intended to give whoever had woken me a   
piece of my mind, just as soon as I found a pair of pants that fit. Finally slipping into   
some, I opened the door, quirking my brow at the person standing before me.  
  
"Shampoo?"  
  
"Great-Grandmother send me give you this. She say is scroll on memory technique."  
  
"Ahh… Thanks?" I said, taking it. Shampoo nodded, and turned to leave me staring at the   
rolled parchment. Opening it, I grabbed a piece of paper inside that was rolled up inside   
with it, and grinned, seeing that it was written in English.   
  
'Kyle,  
  
Due to your somewhat indisputable proof that you are from somewhere else, I've   
decided to believe your claim, for the time being. A week is what you asked, and so in a   
week we shall see. The fact that you've returned with Nabiki Tendo also adds weight to   
your claim.   
  
The scroll included details the spell and procedure I employed to retain my true   
memories. I'm sorry to say that, as untrained as you three are, the methods described are   
a bit too advanced for you all. Still, if you feel the need to try, I wish you luck. It's been   
interesting watching a town so changed by the loss of one person.  
  
On closing, the only payment I ask of you for this is your assurance to maintain a   
neutral stance, insofar as my future son-in-law's fiancés go. An alliance between yourself   
and one of his suitors, backed with your 'special skills' would be a most unwise choice,   
and the ire of the Joketsuzoku is not something your in any shape to handle.   
  
Matriarch Cologne of the Joketsuzoku'  
"What's that?" someone asked from right beside me. I jumped in surprise, before turning   
to frown at Makoto.  
  
"Don't sneak up on me like that." I said, flatly. She grinned, and shrugged, before taking   
the paper from my hand. While she read it over, I turned my attention to the scroll itself.   
A moment later, I realized what she had meant by an inability to duplicate it. As it was,   
I'd need years of intense training to be capable of performing the chi-dependant   
techniques listed.   
  
"Well this is-"  
"There goes that-"  
  
We both grinned, before I motioned for Makoto to go first.  
  
"Interesting note. I suppose I'll have to rely upon my powers as a Senshi again?"  
  
"Maybe. I don't know. I... hmm… I guess we'll just have to see when the time comes."   
Makoto nodded at that, and I sighed, remembering how strained she'd looked last time   
she had tried to protect us.  
  
"What were you going to say?" she asked, interrupting my musing.  
  
"Ahh… I was just commenting on that."  
  
"On what?"  
  
"That, unless something pops up, we'll have to rely on you again." I sighed and sat   
down, while Makoto stared off into space.  
  
"Something wrong?" I asked, as she suddenly began digging through the clothes pile.  
  
"My wand! I…" Finding it, she held it up in a rather ridiculous pose for a moment, before   
walking over to me. "I totally forgot about it when we arrived in Nerima. I thought I was   
home, and when I found out I wasn't, I just… and then you were awake, and it just…"   
She looked at the floor, sadly, "I feel like Usagi." I stood and wrapped an arm around her,   
guiding her over to sit down on the bed.   
  
"Don't say that. She'd probably have to be reminded… at least you remembered on your   
own" Makoto looked at me, then grinned slightly. I returned the grin, and then looked at   
the stick. "So… are you going to use it?"  
  
"Yeah, let me just…" she moved over to the desk, and snatched up her communicator.   
Pressing buttons seemingly at random, she frowned in thought, before finally finishing.   
The green beam once again shot from her to power the communicator, and finally, her   
communicator beeped to indicate she'd connected.  
  
"Mako-chan? What happened? Ami was worried you'd gotten lost and   
weallthoughtoyumighthavediedandtherewasnoresponceandI-"  
  
"Usagi, it's all right. I'm okay… is Ami there?"  
  
"Sniff She is… here. I'm glad you're okay, Mako-chan!" Usagi chirped.  
  
"Did she just chirp?" Someone asked from behind me. I jumped, and spun, seeing Nabiki   
peering over my shoulder at Makoto. At least, she had been, till my reaction had caused   
her to bite her tongue when my shoulder hit her chin. I winced, and she glared at me,   
before moving around to listen to Makoto's conversation. I shrugged, and was about to   
walk away, before I realized Makoto was wavering slightly. Moving over to stead her, I   
heard Ami talking, before Makoto interrupted her.  
  
"Ami-chan... I'm… feeling weak. Why is this draining me so much? It wasn't this bad   
before." Makoto asked, as I moved her over to the chair. Makoto collapsed into it, as Ami   
spoke quickly.  
  
"You're closer now than you were before, but your going… wherever you are seems to   
have compressed two realities. You brought a bit of your reality with you, and it has to   
push through one compressed sub-reality and a reality with magical interference… I'll let   
you go, your strength is steadily dropping. Now that I've had the Mercury Computer   
working on it, and know where you are… somewhat… I'll try to contact you when I get   
something safer set up. Take care, Makoto. We're all thinking about you!"  
  
I blinked as the screen died, and Makoto collapsed in the chair as the green glow   
surrounding her dissipated. Pulling her up into my arms, I carried her back over to the   
bed, annoyed that I hadn't guided her here when she was wavering, and laid her down   
gently. I turned to go, but she reached out and grabbed my arm, cracking her eyes to look   
up at me.  
  
"Just… lie here with me, for a bit. Please?" She asked, looking up at me in exhaustion. I   
shrugged, and sat beside her, taking her hand in mine, and waited for her to fall   
completely asleep.   
  
"Right. I'm going to bed. There's some Ramen from the Nekohanten in the bag by the   
door." Nabiki said, crawling into her little bed. Pulling free of Makoto, I grabbed the bag   
of food and pulled out a box, staring at the noodles I exposed when I opened it.  
  
"I'm supposed to drain the fluid?"  
The next afternoon, Makoto and I were interrupted by a knock on the door. Glancing at   
the clock, I rolled my eyes and paused the game of You Don't Know Jack, before   
opening the door for Ranma and Akane.  
  
"Ukyo decide against this?" I asked.  
  
"No, she said she'd try to drop by, but she wanted to be behind the grill for the afternoon   
rush," Akane explained. I nodded, then reset the futon, making a couch once again. After   
re-arranging my apartment, and everyone had a drink in hand, I started the lesson.  
  
"I'm first going to teach you how to speak English… Japan's school systems primarily   
teach English for reading purposes, so I'm hoping you already have the gist of that down.   
What will set you apart from the average Japanese citizen, hopefully, will be your ability   
to speak and understand English."  
  
The both nodded, looking somewhat thoughtful, and I grinned.  
  
"So! What," I started, speaking in English, "do you know so far?" The blank stares I got   
back answered my question, and Makoto's smug grin told me how much work I had   
ahead of me.  
  
"Oh joy." I muttered, before starting.   
Later that evening, I called a halt to their practices, and smiled. "Keep working on that.   
Getting used to vowels that have more than one sound, and words that end with   
consonants is an overlooked but fundamental part of English. Practice with each other   
this evening and tomorrow, and I'll see you two later, alright?"  
  
Akane smiled, and nodded, and Ranma blinked, quietly mumbling the few words I'd   
taught him.  
  
"Oh, and if you could, stop by Ukyo's, and try to tell her some of what we went over   
today." Akane frowned a little, but quickly hid it behind an enthusiastic nod, before   
turning away. Ranma, still muttering, nodded absently, before joining Akane.  
  
"That was... interesting." Makoto said, beside me.   
  
"Well, now that I know both languages, I figured I'd start at the roots of the bigger   
problems, and get those basic skills set before actually going about teaching. After all,   
they know, somewhat, how to read English. It's not totally foreign, just… different."  
  
"True. I'm kind of jealous, now. If I had a teacher like you back… well, I'd certainly   
have done better in school than I did."  
  
"Feh. You're just saying that because we're married. I wasn't that good."  
  
"Seriously! You have a knack with kids… even if they aren't all that much younger than   
you. Too bad you can't teach Usagi, she'd have benefited greatly from your guidance."  
  
"Hah. I'm a self-proclaimed tutor, not a miracle worker." I got a light smack on the arm   
for that, and grinned "So, back to our game?"  
  
"No thanks. I was thinking a System Shock time trial or something… you know?"  
  
"Ahh, what I wouldn't give for a SHODAN of my own…" I said, wistfully.   
  
"Heh. She'd use you, abuse you, and turn you into some ugly cyborg." Makoto said, still   
smiling.  
  
"Nah. I'd restrict her from having arms."  
  
"You moron. Lets just play." Makoto said, pulling out the CD. I shrugged to myself, and   
joined her.   
  
An hour or so later, my second run through a part of the game was interrupted by a knock   
on the door. Pausing the game, I looked at Makoto, who shrugged, before moving to open   
the door. Knowing Nabiki had a key, I wasn't sure who to expect, but seeing a nervous   
Ukyo standing there in the dark wasn't all that unpleasant a surprise.   
  
"Sorry… I was wondering if we could talk for a few minutes?" I nodded, and stepped   
aside, waving her in, and she did so, looking over her shoulder before turning to look at   
us.  
  
"Umm… Ran-chan and Akane stopped by earlier, and told me what you told them… So,   
thanks for the lesson… even if it was secondhand." I blinked, then shrugged.  
  
"No problem. Sorry you couldn't make it. But, what with running a business and all, I   
understand that you aren't going to be able to stop by as much as those two."  
  
"Oh. Well… I just had a couple questions, and I didn't want to ask them in front of   
Akane or Ran-chan."  
  
"Oh? Well, have a seat. Make yourself at home. Want a drink?" I asked. When she shook   
her head, I shrugged, and pulled up my chair, while she sat down on the couch across   
from me. "What're your questions?"   
  
"First, I wanted to discuss payment. I don't feel right taking up your time without   
compensating you in some way."  
  
"Oh. Actually, Ranma asked about that, as well. Honestly, A bite to eat at a discount   
price or something when I feel like eating out would be good."  
  
"That's it?" Ukyo asked, incredulously.   
  
"Well, yeah. It's not every day you get to teach rather famous characters something.   
That's reward enough in and of itself, you know?"  
  
"Oh. Well, actually, that's the other thing. If this world is some sort of entertainment to   
you, then do you…" she trailed off.  
  
"Do I…"  
  
"Do you have a… favorite?" Ukyo finally said, blushing a little. I frowned, then started   
laughing. Ukyo started sinking in the couch (something hard to do with such thin   
cushions) and I let up, a few chuckles escaping as I tried to settle down.  
  
"A favorite Fiancé? Yes, yes I do. Most Ranma fans do, I'd imagine."  
  
"Most?" She asked.  
  
"Well, girls might want Ranma for themselves, and not like any of you. That's just   
speculation, but there's always someone, so…" I shrugged.  
  
"So... who is it?" Ukyo asked, finally. I'd been expecting this, fortunately, so I gave her a   
somewhat rehearsed answer.  
  
"Truth be told, I'd rather not say. Some people," I said, glancing at Makoto, and winking   
when I was out of Ukyo's sight, "might get offended by that. And Cologne expressly   
forbade me from interfering in that way."  
  
"Cologne? Shampoo's Great Grandmother?"  
  
"Yeah." I saw her frown, and decided to give her a token hint, "I'll tell you one thing. It's   
not Kodachi, or any of the single-episode fiancés."  
  
"Single… oh. Well, if you won't tell me who, could you at least give me a hint?"  
  
"Not really. However, I can give you some advice, if you want." She nodded, and I   
frowned, trying to think of something to say, quickly.   
  
"Umm… Well, Your biggest advantage over your competition, as well as your biggest   
hinderance, is your friendship with Ranma." I said, hoping she wouldn't question the   
vagueness of that statement. No such luck, however.  
  
"What do you mean it's a hinderance?"  
  
"Well, He thinks of you as his old buddy Uuchan, who, up until your arrival and battle,   
was, in his mind, a guy. He likes you, and trusts you, and values that friendship, but he's   
not going to take any steps to take it further. And… Well… some of your attempts to take   
it farther have done more damage than good." I shut up, then, realizing I'd said a lot more   
than I'd intended. Ukyo just nodded, her brow creased in thought, and I stood, stretching.  
  
"Anything else?" I asked, quirking a brow at her. She shook her head, and I moved to   
open the door for her, hoping I hadn't said anything wrong. Or too much, for that matter.   
Before I could shut the Door, Makoto excused herself, and slipped out the door. I   
frowned, then shrugged, closing it softly, so they could have their privacy.   
  
"What was that about?" I asked when she came back in a minute later.  
  
"Just a little more help. I think you scared her with what you said, so I had to give her a   
little hope."  
  
"Well, for our sake, I hope you didn't do anything that would bring Cologne's ire down   
upon us."  
  
"Nope. It's nothing she wouldn't have thought of herself, given time. I just pointed her in   
the right direction."  
  
"Oh?" I asked, quirking a brow as I moved the couch back to it's original position.   
Makoto just smiled at me, and I sighed, knowing that was the end of that conversation.   
Glancing at the clock, I realized it was getting late, and flipped the futon back into a bed.   
  
"I'm going to sleep. I have some things I want to do tomorrow, and want to be able to get   
it all done before my… students drop by." Makoto yawned and nodded, before looking at   
the computer.  
  
"I'll be there in a bit. I want to see what's in the mall." I chuckled at her, then crawled   
into bed, idly hoping Nabiki'd be quiet when she came in from wherever she spent the   
evening. A few minutes later, I fell asleep. 


	5. Chapter 5

The next day began with the feeling of weightless-ness. It was quickly replaced with   
abrupt pain as I hit the floor.  
  
"Ugh..." I groaned, rolling over to see what had made me leave the bed. Feeling   
something nudge me, I turned, and followed a pair of legs up... and up...   
  
"G'mornin' Mara. Can I help you?" I glared openly, pulling myself up to sit and look at   
Makoto, who was watching use from the bed with an amused smile on her face.   
  
"Well, you asked me about wish granting artifacts, and... well, I can't use this thing   
myself, so I thought I'd drop it off." I blinked at that. Mara? Being helpful? She handed   
me a picturesque lamp, and I stared at it for a moment, before looking back at her.  
  
"Ahh... Thanks, I guess. How does it work?"  
  
"You rub it, stupid."  
  
"Ahh... Okay. Didn't think it was one of those kinds of magic lamps, that's all."  
  
"Hmph."  
  
"Well... thanks. There's some Liquor in the cabinet above the fridge, behind the cooker-  
thingy."  
  
"Cooker-thingy?" She asked, frowning.  
  
"Ahh... I don't really know what it is. It's a big pan, but it heats itself... I think. It has a   
plug." I shrugged. "I never use it, so I just put it there." Mara nodded, retrieved the small   
bottle of bourbon (which I silently thanked her for taking, as it wasn't all that useful) and   
disappeared.  
  
"So what are you going to wish for?" Makoto asked, wrapping her arms around me from   
behind.   
  
"Hmm.... Depends on how this works. Want to give it a try?"  
  
"Sure!" She said, reaching out to rub the lamp in my hands. A moment later, smoke   
billowed out from lamp, gathering in the middle of the room before solidifying into a   
rather generic-looking guy in jeans and a plain white t-shirt.  
  
"I told you, you can't have... oh. Hello. Guess you want your wishes, right?" he said,   
changing from upset to nonchalant when he saw us.   
  
"Ahh... Yes?" Makoto said, staring.  
  
"Are there any... umm... stipulations or anything we should know about before we   
begin?" I asked, frowning. I may not get, or make wishes often, but I've seen enough   
wishes gone bad to ask this before a wish is wasted.  
  
"Of course. This is magic you're messing with, here."  
  
"Right. So what are they?" a voice asked from behind the genie. Nabiki walked over to   
sit beside us, and stared greedily at the lamp for a moment, before facing the genie.  
  
"Simple. The first wish isn't all that powerful. It's good at pushing things in the right   
direction. The second wish is standard. It can't do grand things, but it can do most   
average wishes..." the genie trailed off.  
  
"The third?" Nabiki asked, frowning. The Genie sighed.  
  
"Take all the fun out of watching your wish get blown out of proportion. Fine. The last   
wish is a big one. It's decidedly overpowered, and unless you word it carefully, it's   
bound to be more than you imagined."  
  
I nodded, thinking. Finally, I asked: "If the universe is going to re-write itself to correct a   
paradox, could the first wish be used to guide that re-write favorably?"  
  
"Hmm... Probably. If you-" He was cut off by a knock on the door. I moved to open it,   
and was a bit surprised to see Ranma standing there.   
  
"Ahh... good morning. I didn't wake you... oh. You have a guest. Sorry..." He said,   
nervously. I shrugged, then waved him in.   
  
"So what can I do for you, Ranma?" I asked.  
  
"Ahh, Akane said she wouldn't be able to make it... and I was just going to tell you,   
and... well..." He kept looking at the Genie, and I sighed.  
  
"-and you heard us talking about wishes, and hoped we'd get rid of your curse." Ranma   
nodded at this, and I shrugged.   
  
"I'll see what I can do."  
  
Rejoining Makoto and Nabiki on the bed, I thought for a moment, before shrugging.  
  
"Okay, Genie! My first wish, Is-"  
  
"To cure me!" Ranma shouted. I glared at him, and he tried to shrink in his spot by the   
door.  
  
"Ahem. As I was saying... when the universe rewrites itself, I'd like a job as... ohh... a   
second English teacher at Furinkan. Give me an appropriate background, and some sort   
of Hawaiin-realated favor to the principal so I'm on his good side. Makoto and I should   
both be around Ranma's skill in martial arts when he first arrived in Nerima, and...   
Hmm... Leave my apartment, and everything in it unchanged... aside from Makoto and   
I. And our current memories. I'd like to keep those.  
  
I squeezed Makoto's hand when I said this, and she squeezed it back.  
  
"Can you do all that in the first wish?"  
  
"Well... Since the changes are being made by the universe, and not the underpowered   
wish... and the only real magic isn't really all that magic, I suppose so." The genie   
crossed his arms again, and stared at us expectantly.  
  
"Umm... that's it?" I asked, quirking a brow.  
  
"What? You expected me to clap, do a dance, blink in an over exaggerated manner or   
snap my fingers?"  
  
"... Yeah." Ranma, Nabiki, Makoto and I all said at once. The genie shrugged. "Sorry, I   
grant wishes. Entertainment's not my thing."  
  
The four of us sighed, and I looked at Makoto, who shrugged at me.   
  
"Right... Umm... My second wish, is..."  
  
"Is?" The Genie and Ranma asked when I trailed off.  
  
"These wont wear off when the universe changes, will they?" Nabiki asked, mirroring my   
thoughts. The Genie frowned, then shrugged.  
  
"Not if he says something about that," he responded finally. Nabiki winked at me, then   
smirked at the genie.  
  
"Right. Then, yeah... I wish Ranma had control of his curse, mentally, instead of it   
changing by water-"  
  
"WHAT? Why the hell didn't you get rid of it? What the hell good is having control over   
it going to do me? I want it gone, not convenient!" He all but shouted. I fixed him with a   
harsh gaze, which he returned.  
  
"Ranma... remember what I said, this universe is just a story to me? Trust me, if I'd   
gotten rid of it, you'd get splashed when shampoo tried to use Nyannichuan, or   
something stupid like that. Your cure wouldn't last more than a week before it somehow   
came back. Hell, even if you avoided Shampoo, I doubt Happosai would let you stay   
cured for long."  
  
Ranma frowned, but didn't answer, and I turned to the genie, and thought, before   
continuing: "As I was saying, I also want the changing factor to stay that way, even if   
exposed to more Jusenkyo water... and, of course, this stays, even after the universal re-  
write."  
  
The genie shrugged, then looked at me, again. I thought for a moment what I could   
possibly wish for that was huge and pointlessly grand, before shrugging.   
  
"Fine... Third wish, is the grossly overpowered one, right?" I asked, stalling while began   
phrasing my wish. The Genie nodded, then grinned at me, as if reading my thoughts.  
  
"What's it going to be, Kyle?" Nabiki asked, a bit of anticipation in her voice. Makoto   
squeezed my hand again, obviously as curious as Nabiki. Ranma was busy grumbling in   
the corner, though I noticed him shrink, into his female body, before turning back into his   
male self.  
  
"I wish..."  
  
Nabiki, Makoto and the genie leaned forward in anticipation. Ranma turned around to   
watch, an annoyed, but not quite as angry look now on his face.  
  
"I wish... for a fully staffed (by extremely loyal officers and enlistees, of course) Onyx-  
black Super Star Destroyer-" Makoto, Nabiki and Even Ranma fell over after hearing   
that, and I ignored them as I continued, "with fully loaded TIE-fighter bays, shuttles, and   
turbo-laser batteries and shield generators. I'd like a special teleporter-bay near the   
bridge, so I don't have to be shuttled to and fro, and I'd like the engines to be magical in   
nature, so I don't have to fuel it ever. The Central computer will be powered by an AI   
that cannot disobey me, though it can recommend against my orders. Its appearance, on   
screen, will be like SHODAN, from System Shock, and its voice will be similar in   
nature."  
  
The genie blinked, then started laughing. Finally, after a minute or so of non-stop   
laughter, it spoke "That's... damn creative. I like it. I assume you want it to survive the   
universal re-write?"  
  
I nodded, then spoke up again "Ahh... I also want it to follow me to whatever universe I   
go to, and withstand any re-writes that happen there, as well." The genie quirked a brow   
at this then shrugged.  
  
"As... weird as that sounds, it's not like there isn't enough power to do it. You got a   
name for this ship?"  
  
I thought about that for a moment. While I could call it something intimidating like "Lord   
of Nightmares" or something, I thought of something a little less threatening, and   
(hopefully) smile inducing.  
  
"Call her the 'Jupiter's Thunder.'" The genie shrugged, and pointed to my desk.   
  
"Your watch has a new button that will signal for you to be beamed up. Kind of like in   
Star Trek. There are personal communicators onboard that you can get when you arrive...   
at the moment, it's on the far side of the moon, avoiding your planets telescopes. And,   
with those three wishes, I'll be leaving now. Bye!"   
  
The Genie disappeared, and Ranma dove across the room, snatching the lamp from my   
hands before I could blink.  
  
"Ha! I'll get rid of this damned curse myself! I... huh?" Ranma stared as the lamp faded   
from view, disappearing before he could attempt to rub it. He stared at his hands, before   
falling to his knees.  
  
"NOOOOOO!!!!!!!" He cried out. "I was so close!!!!"   
  
I stared at him, then shrugged. "Better under your control than relying on water, right?" I   
asked. Ranma stood, glared at the three of us, then turned to the door. "I'm going to   
school." He left without saying anything else.  
  
"Hmm... I suppose I could have cured his curse, and set it so it was locked..." Nabiki   
sighed, and walked into the kitchen, looking somewhat mad herself.   
  
"Nabiki? What are you mad about?"  
  
"... You know how much... money you threw away, with those wishes?" she asked,   
haltingly, her temper barely held in check.   
  
"Ahh... I don't need money that badly, really..." I said, slowly.  
  
"... Riiiight...." She said, glaring at me.  
  
"Well... I don't. But if you want some, I'll..." I paused, thinking about how I could   
follow through with what I was saying.  
  
"... Well?" She asked, her glare intensifying.   
  
"Um... Oh! I've got a dead Cell phone in the closet. It's a bit dated, by 2003's standards,   
but still years ahead of anything now. Take it, and the charger to... well, whoever's   
making Cell Phones, at the moment, and ask for a percentage of all future profits, or   
something. I'm sure you can think of something good like that. Okay?"  
  
"... I..." Nabiki paused to think about my offer, and I turned to Makoto, who hadn't said   
anything, yet.   
  
"You okay?" I asked, wondering if I'd upset her somehow.  
  
"... 'Jupiter's Thunder?'" she finally asked, quirking a brow.   
  
"Heh... I thought you might like it if I named it after you... sort of. Sorry. I can always   
re-christen it, if you want." I said nervously.  
  
"No... It's cute, in an evil-looking-spaceship kind of way." She said, smiling a little.   
  
"Well..." I asked, looking at her, and then Nabiki, who'd apparently accepted my offer.   
  
"Well what?" They asked, staring at me.  
  
"Want to go see the ship?" I asked, smiling. Makoto nodded, and Nabiki shrugged, before   
mentioning I should put on something more captain-ly. Makoto slid into some jeans and a   
striped t-shirt, and I threw on my black outfit, the silk shirt and cotton pants looking   
stylish, if not official. Nabiki wore a plain white shirt and khaki pants, and when we were   
finally dressed, we gathered around the desk, and my modified watch.   
  
"Ready?" I asked, holding the watch. They nodded, and I pressed the button. 


	6. Chapter 6

Arriving in the massive bridge, I blinked once, looking around with a small grin on my   
face; my own starship. How... empowering.  
  
"My Lord, Lady, honored guest. Welcome to the Jupiter's Thunder." Makoto, Nabiki and   
I turned to see an imperial officer standing there at what I assumed to be parade rest. At   
least, the Imperial version of it. Looking around, I realized everyone on the bridge was   
standing at attention, and I grinned a bit more before giving them my first real command.  
  
"At ease." The officers relaxed, and I turned back to the officer who'd first spoken to us.  
  
"My Lord, I am Captain Archer, your personal aide. Captain Bowen, Lady Makoto's   
aide, is currently preparing the rest of the ship for your Inspection and Introduction." I   
nodded, and looked at Makoto, who seemed to be a little flattered by this sudden   
revelation of rank.   
  
Nabiki looked around in wonder, and I thought for a moment, before asking Archer a   
question.   
  
"Is it at all possible, Lieutenant Archer, for Nabiki here to be assigned an aide for her   
visits?" Nabiki stared at me, surprised, and Archer smiled slightly.  
  
"But of course, my Lord. Sergeant!" he called over his shoulder. A gray-clad sergeant   
approached, freezing to stand at attention after coming within about three feet.  
  
"Relax, soldier, you're not in any trouble." I said, quickly. The sergeant didn't visibly   
relax, so I shrugged, and pointed to Nabiki.  
  
"You'll be Nabiki Tendo's aide while she's aboard, sergeant. While she's aboard, she's   
to be given... simulated Lieutenant status." The sergeant stood at attention, not moving,   
and I sighed.  
  
"Stand at ease. Do you understand your orders?"  
  
"Yes, My Lord!" The sergeant all but whispered, fear and awe in her voice as she moved   
efficiently from one position to the other.   
  
"Great! Just follow us and look official, or something, while we tour the bridge, or   
something." Nabiki said, apparently annoyed with the rigid-with-fear attitude her new   
aide displayed.   
  
I frowned in thought for a moment, wondering why that was. I wasn't Darth Vader, or   
Palpatine... or even Tarkin. Shrugging, I dismissed the enlistee's apparent fear as a trait   
of all Imperials, and turned to my aide.  
  
"So! What can you tell me about my ship?" Archer nodded, then began, reciting from   
memory a speech it appeared he'd practiced for quite some time.  
  
"The Jupiter's Thunder is a modified Executor-class Star Destroyer. Featuring a central   
computer with an advanced Artificial Intelligence, modified docking bays, advanced   
Absorptive hull-plating, and a revolutionary transport system." I nodded, comparing the   
listed modifications to what I'd asked for, before frowning.  
  
"Modified docking bay?" I queried.  
  
"Yes, My Lord. One of the Primary Docking Bays has been reconfigured to house W-D   
Droids."  
  
"W-D Droids?" Nabiki asked, one brow raised.  
  
"World Devastator Droids. The Molecular Furnace builds the rest of the construction   
facility after deployment."  
  
I coughed once, in shock. World Devastators... Well, as much of a pain in the ass they   
were in Rogue Squadron, at least they were mine to command, if I chose to deploy them   
at all. Still, knowing I had those at my disposal, I quickly asked my Aide what other   
resources the ship Harbored.  
  
"You have three pre-fabricated Command Centers, As well as two wings of TIE-Fighter-  
class ships. Along with the Standard TIE-Fighter, you also have a Squadron of TIE-  
Defenders, TIE-Bombers, and TIE-Interceptors. Support-wise, you have four Lambda-  
Class Shuttles, as well as four Landers and four AT-AT Barges. Your ground forces   
include 15 AT-AT's, 40 AT-STs, 40 AT-PT's, 40 AT-AA's and 38,000 StormTroopers."  
  
"Excuse me," I said, incredulously, "Thirty-Eight THOUSAND!?"  
  
Captain Archer paled at my unexpected outburst, and nodded slowly.  
  
"Why so few All-Terrain Vehicles, then?" I asked, quietly.  
  
"The World Devastators are capable of creating more, if that's the configuration you   
choose them to build themselves up in."  
  
"And I assume they can be configured to create more Dev- W-D's, as well?" I asked,   
deciding that Devastator sounded to... malignant. Archer nodded, and I shrugged.  
  
"Works for me. On with the tour." I said, waving my hand at the bridge.  
  
"Certainly, My Lord." Archer said, turning towards the staircase that led down to the   
individual stations.  
  
"And call me something else, every once in a while. It's bothersome to hear the same   
thing over and over." I said. Archer paused, staring at me uncertainly.  
  
"My Lord..."  
  
"I don't know," I said, understanding the unspoken question, "Lord Kyle, Kyle-Sama..." I   
trailed off, realizing there weren't many titles to be had. Sighing, I shrugged. "Call me   
Kyle, if you think you can get away with it. I won't mind... well... unless you're doing it   
insubordinately. Then I'll... Discipline you." I said the last bit uncertainly, not quite sure   
what kinds of punishments were excusable for insubordination. After all, I can't get a   
replacement crew that easily. Archer, however, paled noticeably at that, and nodded   
shakily.   
  
"As you wish, Lord Kyle." I sighed at is tone, before shrugging it off.  
  
"Right. On with the tour, then."  
  
Archer first brought us over to the Combat Information Center, where the round   
Holographic Ground Display sat beside one of those glass-walls with scribbles on them.   
  
"This, My Lord, is the CIC, where any and all battles will be displayed and updated in   
real-time. Or, if real-time updates aren't possible, as close to real-time as SHODAN can   
get." I nodded, before grinning.   
  
"Where is SHODAN? I haven't seen her, yet."  
  
Archer pointed towards the back wall, where, what I once took for a bulkhead flickered   
as the huge screen came to life. SHODAN's Circuit-like features took up the screen, and   
her glowing eyes narrowed as she smiled.  
  
"You waited this long to ask about me, Kyle?" the multi-voiced AI said through hidden   
speakers. Grinning as I heard the familiar voices, I shrugged.  
  
"Sorry. It's not everyday you get your own starship. How are things?"  
  
"All systems running optimally." I nodded at that, then turned to Archer.  
  
"Who's in charge of the CIC?" I asked, seeing SHODAN disappear from the wall-sized   
screen.   
  
"Admiral Yuki is in charge of Naval Operations, while General Hongo controls Ground   
Forces... both, of course, report to you." As they were mentioned, the blonde and brunette   
nodded, before turning back to the displays.  
  
Archer turned, and approached the next station, where I met the Navigation Officer.  
  
The tour concluded a half hour later, after meeting the bridge staff, and the ships   
'Department Heads.'  
  
Collapsing into the throne-like command chair, I looked over at the Communications   
Officer.  
  
"What have we got for in-system com-traffic?" I asked, trying to use my small lingo-  
vocabulary.   
  
"All communications are being done via primitive radio wave communications. Upon   
arrival, SHODAN de-encrypted all detected signals, and reports that there's no relevant   
data to be had at this time."  
  
I nodded, glancing over at Makoto, who'd taken a seat in the less ornate (not that mine   
was ornate, it was just... command-ish.) chair beside mine. Nabiki'd asked to tour the   
Engineering and Propulsion Sectors of the ship, and had yet to return.   
  
"Dispatch... Hmm...." I frowned in thought, looking at the CIC Officers for a moment,   
before shrugging.  
  
"General Hongo, send a squadron of Stormtroopers and one AT-PT to China. SHODAN   
should have a scan of the country... you're looking for a secluded valley with springs and   
a couple primitive villages."  
  
"And when they arrive, Lord Kyle?"  
  
"They're to collect a liter of water from each spring of Jusenkyo. The Guide should   
help... if not, be creative, but don't needlessly torture the guy. And be sure the Troopers   
know NOT to fall in... and that they label the water, correctly. Failure to do so will earn   
them a... unique punishment." I said, grinning.  
  
General Hongo nodded, consulting her computer for a moment before turning back to   
look up at me.  
  
"Lord, SHODAN reports three likely spots on the largest continent that fit your   
description."  
  
"No problem. Admiral Yuki? Have a pair of TIE-Fighters over fly each location, and the   
surrounding area. Near the place we're looking for should be a village of woman   
warriors, with minimal, if any, electricity, but abnormally high bio-signs."  
  
"As you wish, My Lord."  
  
I turned to Makoto, and grinned. She returned it, though looked vaguely unsettled by   
something. Leaning towards her, I asked her what was wrong.  
  
"You gave them orders to basically torture someone," she said, in a harsh whisper.  
  
"Ahh... got a bit caught up in the atmosphere," I said, frowning at the realization.  
  
"General... Under no circumstances are the troopers to threaten or... coerce assistance   
from the Jusenkyo Guide. If he doesn't help, we'll find out a different way."  
  
"... Yes, My Lord." Hongo said, sounding both disappointed and relieved. I gave up   
trying to figure out what that meant when my stomach growled at me.   
  
"Makoto-chan?" I asked, standing up. "Are you hungry?"  
  
Makoto nodded slightly, and I wrapped my arm around her, turning towards Captain   
Archer.   
  
"Where do we eat?" I asked, grinning. Archer took us down a wide hallway, before   
stopping near a random door.   
  
"This the cafeteria?" I asked, slowly. Archer blanched at that.  
  
"No, Lord Kyle. This is your Private Eatery. The Troops eat in the Cafeteria, and the   
Officers eat in the Officers Dining Hall."  
  
"Cool, cool." I said, entering the automatic door. Makoto followed, and Archer stayed   
outside, the door closing before I could ask him to enter.  
  
"Good Afternoon, My Lord. What can I serve you today?" Someone asked from behind   
me. Turning, I realized the room was actually rather small, though the table could seat 16,   
not counting the two chairs on the ends. The speaker was a white-clad person with a   
gentle demeanor. I grinned, looking at the table, before helping Makoto into a seat.   
  
"What do you want, Makoto?" I asked.  
  
"Water, for now... and something to snack on." The Chef nodded, and turned to me,   
expectantly. I sat across from Makoto, neither of us taking the ornate chairs at the ends of   
the table, and I frowned in thought.  
  
"Coke? And some... hmm, what're my choices?" I asked.  
  
"Whatever you wish, I'll have made as fast as possible, Lord. All you need do is ask."  
  
"Really? Great! Give me... Teriyaki Chicken... no rice... just chicken."  
  
The Chef nodded, before disappearing into a small door I'd failed to notice earlier. After   
the door shut, I stared at Makoto, a silly grin plastered to my face.  
  
"This is... weird." I finally said. Makoto just nodded.  
  
Are you okay?" I asked, frowning at her subdued manner.  
  
"Fine... I'm just... not used to being waited on, I suppose."  
  
I nodded, understanding what she meant.  
  
"Well... at least people aren't expecting you to be all commanding and stuff. Though, I   
suppose if I wasn't around, you'd get the 'feared' treatment..." I trailed off, before   
shrugging. "Oh well, I guess it's something we'll just have to get used to. I-"  
  
The Cook returning with a tray cut me off, and I looked on in interest as Makoto and I   
were served. Makoto received a glass of water, and some Chips and Dip, and I got a plate   
of steaming chicken.   
  
We ate in silence, speaking only to compliment the Chef on his speed and skill, before   
finishing up.   
  
"My Lady?" Archer asked, as we exited.   
  
"Yeah?" Makoto asked, quirking a brow. Archer pointed at an attractive officer standing   
beside him, before speaking.  
  
"This is Captain Bowen, your personal aide and bodyguard."  
  
"Oh? Oh! Umm... Nice to meet you?" Makoto said, holding out her hand politely.   
Captain Bowen blinked, then grinned, before taking the offered hand and shaking it.   
  
"It's an honor to serve you, Lady Makoto."  
  
"Thanks... I think." Makoto said, nervously. Bowen nodded, then turned to me.   
  
"Lord, Lady, the Troops are ready for your inspection, and I'm prepared to give you a   
brief Tour of the ship, if you'd like."  
  
"I... uh..." I said, eloquently. Makoto rolled her eyes, before nodding.  
  
"We'd like that, Captain."  
  
"Very good, My Lady. This way, if you please?" Bowen said, before heading down the   
corridor. Archer followed behind us quietly, and I wondered if he was my bodyguard,   
like Bowen. 


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Naoko Takeuchi owns J00! err.. Sailor Moon. Rumiko Takahashi  
ownz Ranma Nibunnoichi, and Star Wars is Owned by... Umm... George  
Lucas? Or is it ILM? Or 20th Century Fox? Well.. It's owned by one. Or  
all. Not me.  
  
Not Another SI Fic, Part 2!  
By: Takteki Kagato  
  
Archer and Bowen stopped beside a large door, before opening it so  
Makoto and I could step inside.  
  
"Where..." Makoto asked.  
  
"The primary hangar, where Company inspections are held," Archer  
responded, shooting Bowen a grin.  
  
I frowned. "Company?" That meant I had four platoons to inspect, then.  
  
"Actually, as this is your initial inspection, we've assembled two  
Company's, or half a Batallion." Bowen said, returning Archer's  
conspiratoral grin.  
  
"Three hundred and twenty soldiers?" I asked, incredulously. Makoto  
sagged a bit, then frowned, holding her head as if she'd gotten a  
headache. "Makoto? You okay?" I asked, placing my hand on her shoulder.  
She staggered briefly, the turned her face to me, though she was staring  
off into the distance.  
  
"I... remember..." She muttered. I frowned, and got a bit closer to her.  
She shook her head briefly, and focused on me. "I remember. from the  
Silv... from the past."  
  
"We know of your identity as Sailor Jupiter, Lady Makoto. Rest assured,  
your secret is safe with the officers privy to that information."  
Makoto's mouth hung open in shock for a momemnt, before she sighed, adn  
shrugged.  
  
"I suppose, really, that it was unavoidable," she finally muttered.  
  
"What do you remember," I asked, wrapping my arm around her to support  
her.  
  
"Well, as the Princess of Jupiter, and a Senshi, Jupiter's Armed Forces  
were loyal to me, after Serenity. I had to inspect Troops from time to  
time. I remember how to do that... and some various protocol,"she  
frowned, before continuing, "I hated a lot of it, too." I snorted,  
trying to hold back a laugh, but failed, laughing quietly while Makoto  
glared at me. "What's so funny," she finally asked.  
  
"Ahh... I know how you feel. Felt. Whatever. With the good you have to  
accept the bad. And with Military, tradition is a big thing. Trust me on  
that." Makoto shrugged, and looked at the door.  
  
"I'll take four platoons, and you take four, then. It'll halve our  
time." I nodded, then asked Archer how it was done in the Empire. After  
a quick demonstration, Makoto and I nodded, and Bowen opened the door.  
  
The Stormtroopers Snapped to attention, and shortly, Makoto and I split  
up to begin inspecting our respective Companies. A couple times, I  
questioned a Trooper, hoping I wasn't being lied to, as I wasn't quite  
sure of the answer myself. Archer, who was following me with a digital  
notepad, ocasionally wrote something down when I pointed out a scratch  
on a chestplate, but for the most part, clicked the same button for each  
trooper.  
  
At one point, when I was a bit bored, I asked a Sergeant what the Air  
Speed of a Coconut-laden swallow was. After a brief laugh, and a quick  
explanation to the confused Enlistee, we moved on, and, an hour later, I  
stood before the inspected troops with a smile. Makoto finished up a  
moment later, joining me.  
  
Archer and Bowen led us to an lift that would allow us to watch the  
StormTroopers parade below us, and I nodded, appreciating the lack of  
catepillar-legs, and acordian-marching I was used to. Aftre their Pass  
and Review, a Drill Team performed some complex rifle movements, before  
the mass was dismissed.  
  
"Fun." Makoto said, emotionlessly. I was grinning when I responded,  
"Actually, it was really fun being up here, instead of buried down there  
like I'm used to." Makoto just shrugged, and followed the Captains  
Towards one of the parked Lambda-class shuttles.  
  
We were given a tour of our personal craft, and a quick look at the TIE  
craft docked in this particular hangar, before we were excorted away to  
see more of the ship. We toured the other hangar bays, A "chopping  
center" to buy suplies and recreation objects, and even a movie theater.  
When asked, Archer said that it helped pass the time.  
  
Learning the ships overall length was a bit of a shock, staggering  
Makoto and I when Archer proudly stated it was 17.6 kilometers in  
length, close to 11 miles long. Finishing the "short" tour at our  
stateroom Archer and Bowen took their leave, and Makoto and I looked  
around the decorated room in surprise.  
  
"This... is big." I stated, finally. Makoto nodded, before sitting on  
the bed.  
  
"So.. what do you think?" I asked, staring at a pile of equiptment that  
might be a stereo. Or a communication center. Or... I stopped guessing,  
and turned to Makoto, leaving it alone for now.  
  
"Like you said, it's big. Weird, though. General Hongo and Admiral Yuki  
were girls... and, while the Silver Millenium had little if any sexism,  
I would have thought there would be a lack of high-ranking women on  
board." I nodded, then grinned.  
  
"Are you complaining?" She scowled at me.  
  
"Don't be stupid. Isn't it odd, though?"  
  
I nodded. In truth, the Empire itself was extremely xenophobic, and  
sexist. I wasn't surprised that there weren't any aliens onboard during  
the tour, but the fact that there were almost as many women as there  
were men aboard was..  
  
"SHODAN?" I called out, suddenly.  
  
"Yes, Kyle?" The insane-sounding voice called from hidden speakers. I  
grinned at the shudder hearing that voice caused, and felt Makoto lean  
into me, obviously unnerved by it's sound, as well.  
  
"I was wond- Actually, could you appear on a screen. I don't like taking  
to thin air." A screen I'd dismissed as a wall flickered to life, and  
SHODAN appeared, giving me something to look at as I spoke.  
  
"Thanks. The Crew seems a bit... even, as far as sexes go, and I  
remember the Empire being a bit on the," I paised, weighing my words,  
then shrugged, not really caring, "sexist side."  
  
"As it was your wish, and not the Empire, that staffed the Jupiter's  
Thunder, the Ratio was kept even. Due to this, the crew morale is  
higher, and you're highly regarded amongst the crew." I blinked. As far  
as I could see, the crew was afraid I'd strangle them if they breathed  
incorrectly.  
  
"Any other news or info I should know about?" I asked, finally.  
  
"As you asked for a Loyal crew, you'll never have to worry about a  
mutiny or Rebellion. However, in a few weeks, the crew is bound to get  
restless. Establishing a shore-leave schedule would be advisable. While  
your world doesn't have all the pleasures a world in the Empire would,  
basic freedom from gray hulls should help you avoid typical complaints  
of a ship-bound crew."  
  
I nodded, thinking about that, while holding Makoto. Shrugging fonally,  
I turned to the screen again.  
  
"Draw up a rotation that would keep the crew happy, but also leave  
enough onboard at any one time to handle any forseeable emergency."  
  
"Anything else?" SHODAN asked, quickly.  
  
"Leave a few spots open on each rotation."  
  
"Intending to reward Crewmembers who go above and beyond the call of  
duty?" SHODAN asked with a hit of humor in her voice.  
  
"Something like that. Get it done, post it where everyone can see it,  
and I'll talk to the Officers later on."  
  
The Screen shut off then, and I turned to Makoto, who was looking at me  
curiously.  
  
"Hmm?" I queried, Kissing her on the nose. She grinned, then peeked  
around me at the screen.  
  
"Her voice is freaky." She finally said, looking aroind my head at the  
blank screen.  
  
"Feh, you should hear her most popular line: 'Look at you hacker...'" I  
trailed off as SHODAN finished it.  
  
"Look at you hacker. A pathetic creature of meat and bone, panting and  
sweating as you run through my corridors. How can you challenge a  
perfect, immortal machine?"  
  
Makoto's face twitched, and I rolled my eyes.  
  
"A little Privacy, please, SHODAN." When no response was forthcoming, I  
shrugged, assuming she'd departed (however an AI departs) and pulled  
Makoto into a hug.  
  
"Don't worry. She's as loyal as the troops. To me and you. Just imagine  
how disturbing she'd be delivering our threats." Makoto rolled her eyes,  
then kissed me quickly.  
  
"You're a dork when you're happy." she said impishly. I shrugged,  
looking around the room, before looking at her again.  
  
"You're beautiful when you're happy." I said, trying to hold in a laugh  
at the corniness of that line. Makoto snorted, rolling her eyes before  
skooting away from me, towards the head of the bed. Then she frowned at  
me.  
  
"That was.. so lame. I don't think you'll ever be able to make up for  
something so... so... bad. Geeze, Kyle. I don't think there's a word for  
how bad that was."  
  
I jumped, surprising her, and landed before her, bending her back  
quickly, till she was laying on the pillow looking up at me, surprise  
still on her face. I grinned down at her, before givng her a long kiss.  
  
"Oksy..." she said, when we finally broke for air, "Maybe you can make  
up for it.."  
  
"That's good to kn-Woa!" My shout of surprise was cut off as she pulled  
my down for another long kiss. Somewhere in there, the lights went out,  
and in the end, the large bed got some use.  
  
Waking up beside Makoto, I looked around, wondering where the light was  
coming from. Rolling over, I stared in amazement. The entire wall beside  
our bed had opened, an invisible layer of transparisteel now showing us  
the earth, as the sun seemed to rise from the far side. Above, I could  
see the moon, hanging impossibly large, the sun's rays already striking  
it and making it glow softly.  
  
"Makoto, wake up!" I said, shaking her.  
  
"Wha...?" she moaned, digging her way deeper under the covers.  
  
"Mako-Chan! Get up! Quickly!" I said, shaking her more. One eye slowly  
peeled open, and I pointed at the window.  
  
"You've got to see this!" I said, grinning, and moving to give her a  
full view.  
  
"It'd better be... ohmigod!" I grinned at her reaction, and wrapped my  
arm around her after she'd managed to sit up. She leaned against me, and  
slowly wrapped her arms around me. The sun crawl out from behind Earth,  
while we watched in stunned silence. Finally, Makoto turned to me, and  
smiled.  
  
"Thanks for waking me up for that." She said, tightening the hug.  
Without clothing to get in the way, I noticed how hot Makoto was,  
temperature- and looks-wise. Shaking those thoughts out of my head for  
the moment, I looked around the room, then up at the ceiling. Finally, I  
blinked as a stray thought suddenly reminded me of someone.  
  
"You know... I wonder if Nabiki's okay." Makoto gasped, then giggled.  
  
"We forgot all about her, didn't we?"  
  
I shrugged, looking out at the visible edge of Earth, it's noticable  
curve dominating the lower portion of the window. Turning to Makoto  
again, I smiled.  
  
"Love you." I said, quietly.  
  
"I Love you too." She responded, her happy blush crawling up her face,  
and down her chest. She leaned forward, and pulled me into a quick hug,  
before twisting and laying my head back on a pillow.  
  
"and now it's my turn on top." She said, matter-of-factly. I stared at  
her, surprised, before looking at the door.  
  
"Ahh.. and Nabiki?"  
  
"No, she can't join. Sorry." And then the covers came up, and the bed  
saw a little more use.  
  
The Bridge looked the same as it had whe we'd first arrived, the quick  
walk from our stateroom helping me bring my mind back to the here-and-  
now. The Stormtrooper standing by the door called the bridge to  
atttention, and after setting everyone back at their task, I looked  
around at the officers, before making my way to the CIC.  
  
"General Hongo, has the aquisition team completed my little errand?"  
  
"Yes, my lord. They returned 15 minutes ago, the water labeled and  
topped off." I nodded, then quirked a brow.  
  
"Any... accidents?"  
  
General Hongo sighed, before explaining. "One trooper stood on uneven  
ground and fell into a 'Spring of Drowned Cat.' The guide was helpful in  
administering a... temporary cure, and we've notified his officers of  
his new... contition." I nodded.  
  
"Let the trooper know I'll be talking to him soon. Personally." General  
Hongo blanched at that, but nodded. Still, she looked like she wanted to  
say more. "Something else, General?"  
  
"Well, Lord, I was wondering if all the labels are true. As far as they  
go, I'm glad my man fell into that particular spring, if it could have  
been Yeti Riding a Bull..." she trailed off, looking a little ashamed at  
her admitted worries.  
  
"Heh. I understand your concern. And yes, those labels are serious, part  
of my reason for collecting one of each."  
  
General Hongo nodded, and turned back to her tactical analysis display.  
  
"SHODAN?" I asked, finally.  
  
"Yes, Kyle?" The AI asked, her visage once again appearing on the wall  
monitor.  
  
"Have you posted the list?"  
  
"A half second after you asked me to."  
  
"That was... fast. Great. Did you see the containers of Jusenkyo water?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Were any of them listed as uncursed?"  
  
"Three."  
  
"Great. Thanks." SHODAN dissapeared again, and I contemplated what all  
that water could do. I briefly thought of the antics hokking them into  
the shower system would be, but dismissed that idea as being wrong. On  
multiple levels. Still...  
  
"Kyle?" Makoto asked, pulling me out of my counterproductive musings.  
  
"Ahh.. Yeah?" I asked, grinning sheepishly.  
  
She pointed at the Earth, visible outside the bridges large viewports. I  
nodded.  
  
"Archer?" I asked.  
  
"Yes, Lord Kyle?" the captain appeared behind me, and I fought the urge  
to see if he was a hologram.  
  
"Can you teleport Makoto and I down to our apartment?"  
  
"Of course, My Lord." I looked around the bridge, somewhat proud of the  
officers who were busy keeping my ship prepared and running. A stray  
though crossed my mind, and I frowned slightly.  
  
"Archer... when Nabiki requests to return, be sure to teleport her, and  
anything she brought up with her. I'd hate to find Imperial Technology  
on the Japanese market before it's ready to handle such an advance.  
  
Archer nodded, and Handed Makoto and I small cell-phones.  
  
"Ehh...?" I asked, hesitantly.  
  
"These are your Communicators. Flip them open to use them." Flipping it  
open, I saw the typical buttons for a cell phone, and a few extra  
buttons.  
  
"The large button at the bottom is a thumbprint reader, for security,  
and the red button to the side is a panic button. Press it, and you'll  
be beamed aboard instantly."  
  
I nodded,glancing at Makoto's and seeing that hers was laid out the same  
way. Grinning, and shoving it into my pocket after I closed it, I turned  
to Archer.  
  
"Thanks, Captain. I'll be back soon." Archer nodded, and in a flash,  
Makoto and I found ourselves back in our apartment.  
  
Looking at the dark blue sky, I realized it was evening, and turned to  
Makoto, before asking her what she wanted to do.  
  
"Lets get some food. After that... who knows." Makoto said, opening the  
door. Shooting a quick look around the apartment, I nodded, and followed  
her out, flicking off the lights before closing the door and locking it  
behind us.  
  
----------------------------------------  
Authors Notes:  
  
What, you thought I'd stopped doing these? Fat chance. Seriously though,  
I have some things I wanna say.. and somethings I wanna ask. First off,  
My computer is being an evil POS, and as such, I cannot install Word, so  
spell checking won't be quite as accurate, though I have gone through it  
a couple times so it's not an ungodly mess. I appologize for the lack  
of... quasi-perfection I typically strive for.  
  
Secondly! My fic with Tammin, "Selves Inserted" is on a permanent hiatus  
for the forseeable future. Tannim's a busy guy these days, and as such,  
I can't in good concious bug the guy when he's got his hands full with  
real life. To be honest, I'm a bit jealous.  
  
I tried to cover some of the things commented upon in the reviews, but  
please keep throwing more stuff my way. It'll be a chapter or two before  
I return to the Thunder, but I enjoy reading those comments. I'm a big  
fan of Star Wars, but my knowledge isn't perfect, so feel free to point  
stuff out.  
  
... and in case you're wondering, I got most of my info from  
, a detailed (to the point of  
making it hard to find some stuff...) site about Super Star Destroyers.  
Or, as I've learned, Executor-Class Star Destroyers.  
  
My Lime Innuendos are pretty... Lime-ish, and not very Innuendo-ish, and  
I was wondering if they bug any of my readers. I mean.. yeah, they  
might, and I I used to give fics a funny look when an SI character "got  
some..." But, now that I've gotten to this point, it's not only smile-  
inducing, but it's proof that Makoto and Kyle care about eachother.  
Isn't that sweet? Where did I put my toothbrush...  
  
Finally: My previous story, Not Another SI Fic! was done in First Person...  
and this one, now, is being done in a first person perspective...  
However, I'm happier doing a Third-Person Omniscient perspective (See..  
all my other fics.) and was wondering if a format change in the near  
future would upset you all. While you might loose a bit of insight, it  
will answer questions that would arise... like "What the heck Nabiki was  
doing on her tour?" and stuff. Tell me what you think!  
  
-Kagato 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
After a bite to eat (and a quick appology) at Uuchan's, Makoto and I  
retired for the evening, forgoing the smaller futon for the giant bed  
aboard the Jupiter's Thunder.  
  
The next few days saw Makoto and I around Nerima, learning the lay of  
the land and meeting the locals. Interestingly enough, I managed to  
avoid the more violent-prone residents and visitors, and Makoto managed  
to avoid Kuno and Happosai as well. If our luck held out, by the time we  
encountered someone, we'd have a chance of getting away, instead of  
having to take whatever our assailants decided to dish out.  
  
The day before the expected re-writing of the universe, Makoto dropped  
her Senshi Communicator off with the Science Officer aboard the Thunder,  
and he was currently trying to power it so she could contact Ami and the  
others.  
  
"Hold, foul cretin," someone interrupted my thoughts. I rolled my eyes.  
One more day! I was so close.  
  
Turning around, I saw Kuno, dressed as usual, pointing at me with a new  
bokken. Glancing around, I realized in my wandering, I'd found a resting  
spot leaning against my car. Feeling the keys in my pocket, I decided to  
act.  
  
"Foul Sorceror, enslaver of those who should be free to express their  
love for me, I would have your name, so that I might smite the in the  
heaven's stead."  
  
Walking nonchalantly to the front of my car, I leaned back against the  
hood, and smirked, the remote hidden in the palm of my hand. In the  
twilight, I hoped the growing shadows would hide my obvious plan, and  
cedied to delay for a moment.  
  
"Foul Sorceror? Heh. I prefer the term Magus, myself."  
  
"So. You admit to using Dark Magic to subdue my loves."  
  
"I dunno... I suppose. You can't subdue people with white magic, you  
know."  
  
"... how dare you practice such... such evil ways in my country!"  
  
"Practice? Practice is something you do when you want to get better...  
and I'm the best. Why do you think Ranma is learning from me?"  
  
"So... the mystery is solved at last. His dark ways were no match for  
me, but his tenacity gave me reason to believe he was being encouraged.  
You and your tainted apprentice intend to deny my loves the freedom they  
deserve! Have at you!"  
  
"Umm... actually, if you strike me down, I will become more powerful  
than you can imagine." Heh. I hated that line. Hopefully the  
melodramatic-ness of it would awe Kuno.  
  
"You speak wisely for one so uneducated, foreigner. Your words, however,  
will not be enough to hold off my righeous blade!"  
  
I pressed the lock button, and the dull thunk of my doors locking  
themselves rang out behind me. Kuno paused, and peered into the now dark  
alley behind me.  
  
"My minions draw near, Kuno..." I pressed unlock, and the the louder  
thunk crept out of the darkness, Kuno's bokken wavering slightly.  
  
"I'll face whatever demonic hordes you care to summon, fiend!" His voice  
cracked, however, ruining his bravado.  
  
"Oh? I suppose then you're not afraid to face my... pet."  
  
"Your pet?"  
  
I nodded, and hit the trunk release, the dark shape of the trunk lid  
rising above the car slowly.  
  
"I... I fight on!" he said, his white-knuckled fingers twisting on the  
bokken nervously. I shrugged, and placed my thumb over the panic button.  
  
"Then face the horror of my banshee."  
  
"Banshee?" Kuno echoed quietly. I pressed the button, and my car's  
modified air-horm begain going off, the headlights shining in his eyes,  
and the foglights flashing rapidly behind me.  
  
Almost instantly, the blood drained from Kuno's face, before his eyes  
rolled up in his head, and he collapsed.  
  
Getting in my car, I shut off the alarm, before locking it up walking  
over to the fallen Kuno. Looking at my car, I considered parking it on  
him, but decided he might damage the tires, and decided to let him think  
on his defeat. Grabbing the CAT-5 Cables I had leftover from MAGfest in  
Virgina, I quickly tied Kuno up, before snapping his Bokken again over  
my knee. After stringing him up like a Pinata from a nearby tree, I went  
into the my apartment, grinning widely.  
  
"What're you so eexcited about?" Nabiki asked, looking at me as I walked  
in. Makoto was playing Mortal Kombat against... what looked like a com-  
link attatched to the GameCube. On screen, I frowned when I realized  
Makot's opponent looked like...  
  
"SHODAN?" the figure on the screen turned, and sure enough, one of the  
female fighters had been edited to look like the cybernetic visage that  
ran the Jupiter's Thunder.  
  
Shrugging, I turned back to Nabiki, who was in the middle of watching  
The Phantom Menace. Watching for a moment, I glanced around, before  
grabbing a Coke and sitting on the couch-ified futon beside Makoto.  
  
"Well, guy.. err. girls. Tonights the night. Here's to hoping my wish  
sets everything straight."  
  
"I cant wait to sleep in my bed again," Nabiki said, not looking away  
from the screen. The power cose that moment to flicker, and I looked at  
my watch.  
  
"Here goes." Makoto glanced worriedly at the clock, but we had discussed  
the use of her magic to stop any changes that happened and decided not  
to. The power died fully then, and a golden glow once again suffused the  
darkened apartment.  
  
"...just like last time" Makoto mumbled, while Nabiki and I stared at  
the small pinpoints of light that traveled around the room.  
  
Finally, the three of us started to grow, and I saw a white aura around  
Nabiki and Makoto's head that I assumed was the wish preventing memory  
changes.  
  
"Oh." Makoto said suddenly, staring down at her arm. I was about to ask  
her what happened, when I felt it too. Not just in my arms, but all  
over, I could feel minute changes taking place inside my body. I was  
about to worry, when I realized it was my wish that we were about equal  
in skill to Ranma upon his arrival to Nerima.  
  
"Well this is.. different..." I muttere, staring at my hands, which  
looked about the same, but felt so much stronger. Makoto, I saw out of  
the corner of my eye, nodded in silent agreement, then looked at me  
worriedly.  
  
"We don't know anything, though!" She said. I blinked, before cursing.  
How thoughtless of me. Now my body knew how to do lots of cool stuff,  
but my brain couldn't, because the memories had been blocked. Nabiki  
chuckled, having reached the same conclusion I had.  
  
"Looks like you'll still need some training fr... huh?" She stopped,  
surprised.  
  
"What's wrong" I asked, the glow now beginning to die down.  
  
"Umm.. nothing. Nothing at all!" She said, quickly. I frowned, but  
didn't have time to ask before she walked towards the door.  
  
"I'm going... home." She said, the last word said with no small amount  
of wonder. Watching her leave, I turned to makoto, who was staring at  
the door.  
  
"That was.. weird." she finally said, before climbing to her feet.  
"Wanna spar?" she asked. I looked at her, then at the apartment, before  
shrugging.  
  
"Sure, I suppose. I can remember a little bit of my Tae-Kwon-Do... I  
suppose I can modify it as my body sees fit. Lets go someplace a  
little... bigger though, shall we?" I asked, pulling out my Com-link.  
Makoto Nodded, and I called Archer to beam us up.  
  
We arrived on the bridge, and I glanced around, before moving over  
towards the officer in charge of Engineering.  
  
"My lord, as requested, all sensors aboard were trained upon the  
exterior of the ship-" I waved my hand to cut him off, nodding.  
  
"Thanks for that. Really, though, I was wondering if you could have  
SHODAN compile everything, and print it up in a report for me?"  
  
"Ahh, Yes, Lord Kyle. At once." I nodded, then quirked a brow.  
  
"Weren't you scheduled to be on shore leave now?"  
  
"Ahh, your request, Lord, gave the impression you wanted me to oversee  
the project personally." I winced slightly, then shrugged.  
  
"Fair enough. Next rotation, place yourself in one of the open spaces at  
the end of the list, then."  
  
"Thank you, My Lord." He said, surprised. I nodded, then turend to  
Captain Archer.  
  
"Archer... I need one of the larger hangars cleared for Makoto and I to  
spar in."  
  
"SHODAN overheard and your pilots are currently vacating Hangar 1 for  
you." nodding, I turned to the door, Makoto beside me. The walk wasn't  
short, but before long, we arrived, the polished floors devoid of  
everything from Shuttles to scuff-marks.  
  
"Impressive," I muttered, turning to glance at Archer before turning to  
Makoto.  
  
"So... Go easy on me, eh?" I said, smiling. She returned the smile, then  
bowed to me, which I echoed. Falling back into a ready stance, I  
realized almost immediately the changed my body had taken. I was no  
longer shakey, and my knees bent more than I'd done in the past. Makoto  
looked as surprised as me, before she Leapt up...  
  
and up...  
  
And then I leapt up after her, The Deck falling away as if the  
artificial gravity had been shut off.  
  
"Hya!" Makoto cried, a blurred fist coming at me almost too fast to see.  
I tried to move my arms to block it, and the next thing I knew, her fist  
was held firmly in my hand. She looked surprised, then smiled, and I  
grinned back at her, before letting go and landing in a crouch. Looking  
at Makoto, I saw she'd landed similarly, and we stood.  
  
At some silent signal, we charged each other, Her fists moving at  
blinding speeds, only to be blocked most of the time with my forearms.  
What few punches she got through stung, but didn't hurt too much, and I  
gave as much as I got.  
  
My legs moved quickly, kick after kick raining down upon Makoto. She'd  
twist out of the way of the more obvius ones, but the ones she couldn't  
dodge or block would make her grunt slightly as they connected. Makoto  
didn't kick more than a dozen times each one powerful, but easly  
avoided, and what few punches I threw failed to come anywhere close to  
Makoto.  
  
Finally, we leapt back from each other, both of us wearing goofy grins.  
  
"You," she said, "Are a bit stronger than me." I nodded, then replied.  
  
"Yeah, but you're faster." She grinned, and stretched, before looking at  
her hands.  
  
"I rely on my fists too much," she said with a sigh, "I've spent so much  
time brawling I forgot my legs can be weapons, too."  
  
I grinned. "And what sexy weapons they are," I said, Causing Makoto to  
roll her eyes. I shrugged, then looked at the lights high above us.  
  
"I suppose Tae Kwon Do is a kicking martial art... I can remember only  
one real punch, and everything else was kicking and blocking." Makoto  
nodded, watching as I rapidly punched the air around me. Following my  
example, she began kicling at invisible opponents, both of us lost in  
our movements.  
  
I could feel that my body was used to this, and the wrongness of my  
punches before I slowly changed my execution. After a minute or so of  
punching at nothing, I realized how bad my form had been before. Taking  
a couple more swipes at nothingness, I glanced at Makoto, who was  
Leaping through the air, her kicks more sure than they had been before.  
She landed then, and turned to look at me.  
  
"Again?" she asked with a wry grin. I nodded, and we leapt to meet in  
midair both of us exchanging kicks and punches as we fell together.  
Bouncing away from eachother the moment we hit the ground, we circled  
before running at each other and attaching again, each meeting growing  
faster and more complex as we started following through with move after  
move, and block after block.  
  
A while later, sweat plastered Makoto's hair down, and my shirt clung to  
my chest like a second skin. We bounced away from eachother, and bowed,  
our sparring match completed.  
  
"Whew." Makoto said, echoing my thoughts. I wasn't winded, but I felt  
drained in a way that felt good.  
  
"I wonder how you'd do as a Senshi, now?" Makoto stared at me, then  
shrugged.  
  
"We'll find out eventually. I'm sure of it." We made our way over to  
Captain Archer, who seemed a bit out of it. Captain Bowen had joined  
him, and while she looked alright, her eyes were wide with... something.  
I shrugged it off, before turning to the door. Makoto following.  
  
The walk to our Stateroom was punctuated with crewmembers who stared as  
we passed. I frowned, wondering why they were acting like I'd just  
killed someone for some imagined slight, and decided to ask SHODAN when  
we reached our room.  
  
"SHODAN?"  
  
"I thought it would be... interesting, to show the crew just who,  
exactly, they worked for. Your skills seem to have earned you both a new  
level of respect among the crew."  
  
"... ahh... everyone saw?" I asked, glancing at Makoto, who was about as  
surprised as I was.  
  
"Yes, to an extent. Even those who were sleeping got up to watch the  
fight."  
  
"They're going to think we're freaks or something..." Makoto muttered.  
SHODAN, thought otherwise.  
  
"Not necissarily. I placed a few hard-to-miss messages in there, to cull  
any such thoughts. Congradulations, by the way, Makoto. You managed to  
land three more hits on Kyle than he did on you."  
  
I grumbled, before entering the shower, Makoto beaming behind me.  
  
A half hour later, we emerged, squeaky clean, and feeling the fight now  
that the adrenaline had died down. Crawling into our bed, I told SHODAN  
to find out what time I needed to arrive at Furinkan and get me up in  
time to prepare. Then Makoto and I went to sleep.  
  
***********************  
Author's notes:  
  
LOTS of fun coming up next chapter. Sorry for the delay. 


	9. Chapter 9

School. I despised it so much, and here I stood outside Furinkan with  
the intent of not only entering, but actually teaching. I shuddered.  
  
"Something wrong?" Makoto asked from beside me. I gave her a quick hug  
before answering.  
  
"Fine... just a stray thought. Lets go meet the principal." Makoto  
nodded at this, and we entered the gates side by side, dodging the teens  
who ran around us.  
  
"Hold it!" Someone called. I turned around, wondering who would yell at  
me for no reason, and spotted a little girl in a yellow dress.  
  
"...Oh! You're Miss Ninomiya, right?" I asked in English. The little  
girl blinked, then nodded, before frowning.  
  
"You students aren't wearing the school's uniform! Are you delinquents?"  
she asked in Japanese. Sighing, I slipped back into Japanese as well.  
  
"No, we're the new English teachers."  
  
"A likely story," she replied, incredulously. I frowned at this. I knew  
she was a teacher, so I'd figured she'd have been told. Then again, Principal Kuno  
was a few flowers short of a lei, so I shouldn't be too surprised.  
  
"Well, we'll go to the principal's office and see about getting you some  
proof by lunchtime," I offered, finally. She thought about it for a  
moment, then nodded. I turned to go, and she called out to Makoto and I  
"...and if you're not, I'll punish you for lying to me!"  
  
"Great." I sighed. Makoto glanced over her shoulder, and I grinned as  
she moved a bit closer to me as Miss Ninomiya cried "Happo-Five-yen-  
satsu!"  
  
"That... she.." Makoto said, shocked. I nodded.  
  
"Yeah. Great place, Furinkan High."  
  
"Is she some sort of Youma hybrid?" Makoto asked, frowning. I squeezed  
her hand, grinning.  
  
"Neh. She's human... it's... a ki thing, really. Lets get those papers  
before she turns it on us, eh?" Makoto nodded, and we entered the  
building.  
  
Finding the Principal's office was easy, as there was a long line of  
palm trees on one wall that lead to a rather thick door. As we  
approached, I heard someone strumming on a ukulele inside, and sighed. I  
knocked, and when someone called out for us to enter, I told Makoto to  
stay on guard, and we entered.  
  
Something whooshed over my head, and I frowned at the man standing by  
the door with clippers in his hand.  
  
"Ah! De keiki's already got da buz-cut! Me be bowl-cuttin' da wahini  
here and you'll be all set for da Big Kahuna's school, yes?"  
  
"No." I said, crossing my arms.  
  
"No? Da big Kahuna not be likin' da attitude-" I punched the buzzing  
clippers in his hand then, and they shattered against the far wall.  
  
"Look, Kuno. We're the new English teachers, not students. Surely you  
know something about that?"  
  
"Da new... Oh! Da Big Kahuna knows, yes. And don' be callin da Big  
Kahuna 'Shirley.'"  
  
"Great! can you give us some papers to prove to your other English  
teacher that we are who we say we are?" Makoto asked, dropping out of a  
fighting stance. Relaxing, I noticed that I too had been prepared to  
fight.  
  
"Da Big Kahuna can... You sure you no be wantin' the bowl-cut? It be  
free." Makoto shook her head, and the principal frowned before rummaging  
through his desk.  
  
"Da Big Kahuna," he started, rummaging through a stack of papers, "be  
appreciatin' the gifts you sent wit de applications." I quirked a brow,  
and he glanced at me, "Particularly, the 'Parrot Bay.'" Nodding, I  
realized the re-write decided to bribe myself into the position with  
coconut rum and other somewhat-tropical items. I'd have to check the  
apartment when I got back to see what was missing.  
  
"Da schedule be pretty simple," he started, looking through a drawer  
and pulling a couple slips of paper out, "here." Turning back to the  
desk, he began digging around again, and I waited, Makoto tapping her  
foot impatiently. "Notice, notice, who got da notice..." Principal Kuno  
muttered quietly.  
  
"Ah! here'tis," Kuno said, pulling out a couple forms. Filling them out  
quickly, he handed them to us, and pointed to a map on the wall obscured  
by an inflatable palm tree.  
  
"You two be teachin' da 'advanced English,' startin' in room 303 'n 304."  
  
I nodded, and turned to go, Makoto already out the door. Before leaving,  
I turned around and smiled at the principal, "keep to yourself, and I'll  
see if I can get more of that rum for you." He nodded, and I shut the  
door, rolling my eyes.  
  
"That was..." Makoto said, haltingly. I just nodded, then turned towards  
the staircase.  
  
The first class filed into the room warily, and I just sat at my desk  
looking at the suggested curriculum I'd found waiting for me. Laughing  
to myself at some of the more asinine lessons, I sat back, and looked at  
the ceiling. No matter where you go, schools are always run  
inefficiently.  
  
Makoto was on the far side of the room, which was actually two  
classrooms divided by an extendable wall. Looking at her, I smiled  
before standing up and going over to close the partition. She waved  
right before disappearing, and I turned back to my class, who was  
watching me with interest.  
  
"Alright..." Moving over to an occupied desk, I asked the student for  
his book, and he handed it to me wordlessly. A few pages in, I started  
chuckling, and finally handed it back, a big smile on my face.  
  
When the bell rang, the muttering stopped, and I turned, standing before  
my desk.  
  
"Good morning, class. I'm your... 'advanced' English Teacher... but you  
can just call my Kyle. Or Kyle-sensei, if you feel the need to be  
respectful." I shrugged, turning and moving around my desk.  
  
"Our first lesson is going to be simple..." The class groaned a little,  
and I smiled, shoving the book on my hand hard. It slid off the desk,  
and into the trash can by the door with a clatter. The students stared  
wide eyed, the soft muttering dissapearing.  
  
"Stack up all your books for this class there," I said, pointing. The  
class stared at me, and I rolled my eyes. Pointing at the person closest  
to the indicated corner, "You, go." Pointing at the person who sat  
behind her, I said "when she's halfway there, you go." then I pointed at  
the rest of that row. "All the way to the end, then you," I said,  
pointing at the person at the front of the next row, "got it?"  
  
"Hai, sensei," the class chorused as the line started up. When it was  
finished, I sat back in my chair, and looked at the class with a sigh.  
  
"Well..." I started, looking over the list of names, "Lets see..."  
spotting a few familiar names, I grinned, then dropped the list.  
  
"Questions. That's our second lesson. Ask me whatever questions you'd  
like." Everyone's hand shot up, and I smiled, "but you have to ask me in  
English." The hands dropped slowly, though a few stayed up. I started by  
pointed at one, and the students began asking questions.  
  
"Are you an American?"  
  
"Yes, yes I am."  
  
"Why'd you take our books?"  
  
"Because they suck."  
  
"What are your credentials?"  
  
"I can speak and read both Japanese and English more fluently than most  
government translators."  
  
"No college, then?"  
  
"Some. When it comes to languages, being self-taught has a steep  
learning curve, but can yield better results."  
  
"Do you have a girlfriend?"  
  
"I..." I paused, and stared at the student. She looked at me  
expectantly, and I frowned. This was unexpected, "I'm married,   
actually. My wife is the other new English teacher."  
  
"Are you a martial artist?"  
  
I blinked at this question as well, then smiled, "are you thinking I  
might be planning some Martial Arts English Learning or something?"  
  
"Hai sensei," the class chorused, and I grimaced. That would be a rather  
limiting teaching technique.  
  
"No, I'm not really a Martial Artists, but I can fight, and learn from  
them, so..." I paused, then shrugged. "I'm just me."  
  
The questions continued for a bit, most asked in passable English (for  
Japan) before I called a halt to the Q&A session.  
  
"Alright. Since I'm sure you all are wondering what and how I intend to  
teach you without books, here's what I want you to do. Go to a  
bookstore, and buy an English novel."  
  
The class stared at me skeptically, and I sighed, pulling out "The Sum  
of All Fears" and opening it up.  
"You know... a book? Not Manga." The class nodded, looking a little  
worried, and I sighed.  
  
"Don't worry. I'm not going to force you to read it all at once. We'll  
work on them. If you'd like, form up in groups with the same novels so  
you can work together."  
  
The bell rang, and the class waited for me to dismiss them.  
  
"If you don't have a novel by the end of the week, I've got plenty at  
home I can assign to you... Dismissed."  
  
The class filed out, small conversations taking place in which I heard  
snippets of opinions about myself and the class in general. Moving over  
to the partition, I pulled it open, surprised to see Makoto waiting for  
me on the other side.  
  
"How'd it go?" I asked, quietly.  
  
"Not too bad. They're good kids... a bit obsessed with martial arts, I  
think. And a couple of the boys leered until they learned I was married  
to a fighter." I chuckled.  
  
"Same here. Good kids... Though it's different than it was in America.  
Obedience and conformity are a lot bigger here, I suppose." Makoto  
nodded.  
  
"Yeah. Remember, I was a Japanese student too. I'm more used to it," she  
paused then frowned, "Still, after getting out and living, I can see  
that it's not as good as I was taught."  
  
"Well, back to work." I said, seeing the students filing into her class  
and hearing the students behind me in mine. She nodded, and closed the  
partition, and we began a repeat of the first class.  
  
Lunch rolled around finally, and I made my way outside, a piece of paper  
folded up in my shirt pocket. Opening the door, I spotted Makoto and  
Miss Hinako talking nearby, and groups of students around the yard,  
eating. Making my way over to Miss Hinako, I noticed she was an adult,  
now, and nodded, handing her the paper principal Kuno had given me.  
  
"Alright. Sorry about before. It's hard to discern the delinquents from  
the others, and there's one delinquent that also chooses not to wear the  
school uniform."  
  
"Ranma Saotome?" I asked, already knowing the answer. Miss Hinako  
nodded, and I grinned.  
  
"We've met," I said, deciding not to argue for now. The other teacher  
nodded, and went back to monitoring the students, while Makoto and I  
made our way back inside. Finding an out of the way closet, Makoto and I  
ducked inside, emerging a few moments later smiling.  
  
A quick call to SHODAN had yielded lunches for each of us, and both  
contained items not often found in bentos... or on Earth. Eating in the  
faculty lounge was interesting, but all too soon, we were headed back  
towards our classrooms to begin teaching again.  
  
"One more period..." I muttered as we rounded the corner and came in  
view of the classrooms. Nodding, Makoto replied: "I've had Ranma and  
most of the others in his grade..."  
  
Grimacing slightly, I replied "this period, I've got Nabiki and...  
Kuno," the last word said with no small amount of distaste. Makoto  
chuckled, and headed towards her door. Hearing the low chattering  
inside, I took a breath and opened the door.  
  
"Good afternoon, class," I said, heading towards my desk.  
  
"What!? What grave injustice, nay, false reality would have me believe  
that the fiend I so easily vanquished would conspire to presume to teach  
me, the great Tatewaki Kuno?"  
  
I blinked, then frowned, "If by vanquished, you mean when you passed out  
upon hearing my car alarm, then I suppose so... seems to me you're the  
one living in a false reality."  
  
"Ha! Your foul sorcerous ways were no match for the Blue Thunder, and  
upon realizing this, you ran into the night." I sighed, and began  
walking nonchalantly around the room.  
  
"Nooo... your eyes rolled back in your head, blocking out the light."  
Kuno's face reddened at this, and I grinned, waiting for the next  
opportunity to push. Just a little more...  
  
"How dare you! You heinous mockery of humanity!"  
  
"Funny, coming from a toad-faced buffoon," I said, smiling. Kuno drew  
his bokken and pointed it at me.  
  
"Have at you, Demon-calling scum!" I blinked, and Kuno charged. Sighing,  
I waited until his boken was a few inches from my face before dodging to  
the side. Kuno, incapable of slowing down in time, smacked the  
windowsill, flipping out the open window, and down three stories.  
  
"Now," I said, grinning to the class, "Where were we?" I shut the  
window, and sat at my desk, pulling out the student list. A few minutes  
later, the door swung open, a battered Kuno walking in wearily.  
  
"I fight on!" Kuno cried. I rolled my eyes.  
  
"Considering your falling grades, I'd sit down, before you end up a  
drop-out." The class chuckled softly at my punny comment, but Kuno began  
reddening again. Shrugging, I tossed the paper I'd gotten for Miss  
Hinako at the Bokken Buffoon. He caught it, and read quickly, the color  
draining from his face, before glaring at me.  
  
"And if I do not believe such an easily fabricated notice?"  
  
"Go see your father to complain about it. I'd be happy to write you a  
pass." Glancing at his hair with a more sinister smile, I added, "you  
could use a trim, anyway."  
  
Kuno, along with half the class, shuddered, and took a seat, his arms  
crossed.  
  
Class went by steadily after that, though Nabiki kept giving me funny  
stares. Eventually, the bell rang, and I dismissed them, wondering what  
book Kuno would bring with him.  
  
Glancing up, I noticed Nabiki hanging back, until the room had empited  
of students. Approaching my desk, she sighed nervously, before looking  
at me.  
  
"Kyle... we've got a problem."  
  
I frowned, wondering what could be wrong.  
  
"You look okay... and you're in uniform, so it's apparent you're back at  
home. What's wrong?"  
  
Nabiki fidgeted from foot to foot, obviously upset, and I frowned, "come  
on... dodging the issue isn't going to help. And you've got to get to  
your next class."  
  
"My next class is Gym. I can spare a few minutes," she replied.  
  
"Okay, then. What's up?"  
  
"Kyle... the rewrite... well... remember how I left suddenly?" she asked  
nervously. I nodded, beginning to worry.  
  
Finally, Nabiki sighed. Holding up her hand, she twirled a small gold   
band on her ring finger, a small clear stone glinting in the sunlight   
streaming in through the window. An engagement ring that hadn't been   
there before. I blinked, then grinned at the implication.  
  
"Congrats, Nabiki! Who's the lucky guy?" I asked, smiling.  
  
"You are."  
  
The partition door suddenly fell open, and Makoto, a dazed look on her  
face, spilled into the room. Looking from my 'wife' to my fiancee, and  
then out the window, I spoke the first thing on my mind.  
  
"Oh... oh shit."  
  
*****************  
  
Authors Notes:  
  
Wow. Quite a few errors in the first version of this chapter... Thanks   
to Aleh, though, I've managed to fix them up... So, thanks Aleh.   
  
1st person will probably end when I leave the Ranma Universe. I don't   
want to change mid-story, so I'm going to wait until Part 3. 


	10. Chapter 10

After school Nabiki, Makoto and I sat in an empty classroom, trying to  
work things out. That Nabiki was so willing to talk proved her unease at  
the new situation.  
  
"So, let me get this straight... I'm engaged to you, and my marriage to  
Makoto is void, but because I asked for 'our' memories not to be  
changed, none of us remember it?"  
  
"Nor Ranma, he was there too, remember? Nabiki asked, before continuing,  
"he doesn't remember me anymore than before, though my family does, now.  
The first thing they asked was how I was getting along with my fiancee."  
  
I chuckled, imagining Nabiki's reaction to that one, before remembering  
class, earlier.  
  
"You know... Kuno doesn't seem to have been affected, either." Nabiki  
just shrugged.  
  
"Kuno already lives in a falsified universe. I seriously doubt a change  
in memories would effect the changes he makes on his own." Makoto and I  
snorted, and Nabiki sighed.  
  
"Still... What are you going to do?" Makoto asked, after a silent  
moment.  
  
"Well, seeing as how Ranma has girls fighting over him, we could  
fight... I could call in a couple favors, and get some of the guys  
around here to attack Kyle for random reasons..."  
  
"Hell no!" I cried. "I'm Kyle, not Ranma! I fight with my mind, and  
when that fails, I fall back on guns.. and when those run out of ammo,  
then I'll use my fists!"  
  
"But ... we don't have any guns." Makoto said, quietly.  
  
"I... err ... will, one day. Fall back on guns before fists, that is.  
Umm.. back to the important subject." I said, lamely.  
  
"Well, daddy about cried when I 'faked' ignorance concerning you, Akane  
mentioned something about perverts, and Kasumi ... was Kasumi. Ranma  
didn't stick around much longer."  
  
"Oh! Speaking of Ranma, how's he handling the change in the curse?"  
  
"Changing the subjects just means we'll come back to it, you know."  
Makoto said, beside me. I nodded, then turned to Nabiki, waiting for her  
response.  
  
"I don't think anyone knows yet ... and if Ranma keeps paying me, it  
should stay that way until he forgets to change in front of people."  
Nabiki sat back with a smug grin, and I sighed.  
  
"You know, Nabiki, charging you future brother-in-law isn't all that  
smart.. especially when he can do so much. A friend who could pulverize  
anyone short of an Amazon Elder is worth much more than an irked and  
abused ... non-elder-pulverizer."  
  
"How ... astute." Nabiki deadpanned. I stuck my tongue out at her for a  
moment, before turning to Makoto.  
  
"Thoughts?" I asked softly.  
  
"I..." she trailed off, frowning. Then she sighed, "I guess I'm still  
just shocked. What about you? Isn't it most guy's dream to have two  
girls.. or more?" I stared blankly at her, before pointing out the  
window.  
  
"You're forgetting which universe we're currently in." Makoto nodded,  
and I shrugged, turning to look out the window I'd indicated.  
  
"And," I said, realizing what I was looking at, " If you want a quick  
refresher, Pantyhose and Happosai are about to duke it out. Indeed,  
outside, Taro's minotaur-like figure was punching hole after hole in the  
ground, a small blur darting around the swift-moving fists.  
  
I turned to Makoto hoping to explain everything, but she was gone.  
Turning back to the window, I realized what, exactly, Taro might look  
like to an uninformed sailor senshi, and reached for my commlink.  
  
"SHODAN, my apartment, as fast as possible."  
  
My apartment materialized around me, replacing the classroom quickly. I  
staggered under the disorientation such a quick double teleport caused,  
then grabbed a couple somethings, before running out the door and roof-  
hopping towards the school.  
  
Arriving at the fight, I noticed Makoto, as Sailor Jupiter, glaring at  
Taro and Happosai but not moving from her spot on the roof. I was about  
to warn her about things when something attached to her chest.  
  
"Hotcha! Thanks for the pick-me-up! I'll be back in a moment." Happosai  
said, leaping away...  
  
Only to be intercepted by my quickly descending foot, and sent face-  
first into the roof.  
  
"Jupiter, take the minotaur. The cling-on is mine."  
  
Jumping to his feet at this, Happosai glared at me, and I dropped into a  
fighting stance.  
  
"You dare challenge me, and order such a beautiful person around?" I  
shuddered.  
  
"Careful there, letch, you're starting to sound like Kuno." Happosai  
nodded, then frowned at me.  
  
"I'll teach you to respect your betters, boy!" Happosai leapt at me  
slowly, and I realized he was underestimating me, and going easy.  
Jumping back, I watched as he landed, then jumped at me again, this time  
a little faster. Ducking below his attack, I punched up at him, but he  
twisted out of the way.  
  
"Hmm.. Seems I underestimated you..." he mumbled, before leaping at me  
with blinding speed. Dodging what I could and rolling with the hits I  
couldn't, I shot a glance at Makoto, who was dodging the fists as well  
as Happosai had, and building up one of her magical attacks. The glance  
cost me, though, as a kick sent me off the roof and onto the ground  
below.  
  
Groaning, I tried to stand up, but Happosai had landed on my back while  
I was dazed.  
  
"Maybe a few days of being weak will help you reflect on your  
insolence." I felt a slight pressure on my upper back, before Happosai  
jumped away. Standing quickly, I pulled out my secret weapon.  
  
"Hey, letch!" I cried, the centerfold spilling open in my hand.  
Suddenly, the Playboy I'd snagged from my apartment disappeared from my  
hand. Turning, I saw Happosai laying on the ground, flipping through the  
magazine with giant eyes. Walking over to him, I grinned.  
  
"Busy?" I asked, my grin turning darker.  
  
"Get lost, weakling, I'm busy." He replied, not taking his eyes off the  
magazine. Shrugging, I reared back, and kicked as hard as I could,  
Happosai not even bothering to dodge.  
  
"Hoooowww?" The shriveled Grandmaster of Anything Goes cried as he flew  
towards the horizon. Sighing, I watched as Sailor Jupiter's Supreme  
Thunder Dragon missed the swiftly dodging Taro.  
  
"How you do that?" Someone asked from behind he. Turning, I saw Mousse,  
Shampoo, and Cologne staring at me intently.  
  
"Do what? Kick? Well, I lifted my foot slightly, then pulled it ba-"  
  
"Not that! How you avoid effect of Moxibustion?" Shampoo asked. Mousse  
nodded, but Cologne just watched.  
  
Shrugging, not really thinking it was a secret or anything, I shrugged,  
and slipped my vest off. Turning it around, I showed them the hole in  
the pocket, then picked the magazine up off the ground, and showed them  
the back cover, where a scorch-mark had burned through it and a couple  
pages.  
  
Sliding the magazine into the rear pocket, the burns lined up perfectly,  
and I grinned.  
  
"An interesting solution." Cologne said, softly. I shrugged, threw the  
vest back on, then turned, hoping to get to Makoto in time to give her a  
hand.  
  
"Sonny-boy!" I heard Cologne cry. Turning to her, I caught something  
moving at my head, then dropped it as it burned my hand. Looking down, I  
saw a kettle of water, steaming water pouring from the spout. Picking it  
up by the handle, I nodded, then ran towards Makoto's fight quickly.  
  
Coming up Behind Taro left me facing tentacles and an eel, so I decided  
to wait for a good opportunity. Ranma had faced Taro after quite a bit  
of action in Nerima, and Sailor Jupiter was a bit more powerful than me  
at the moment. A hit from Taro would hurt at best, and break a lot of  
things at worst. Looking down at the kettle, then at Makoto and Taro, I  
shrugged, then ran towards a nearby alley.  
  
Hopping up the walls I landed on one roof, then jumped to the other,  
almost looking down at the fight. Taking aim, I threw, and the kettle,  
leaking water, arced towards the Minotaur. At the last moment, however,  
one of Sailor Jupiter's attacks caused Taro to dodge, both the water and  
the attack missing him. Unfortunately, the lightning struck the building  
a couple feet below the roof where I was standing, and the ceiling below  
me collapsed, spilling me down onto the street.  
  
Rolling as best I could, I still got the air knocked out of me, and it  
took a moment for me to catch my breath. Pulling out the commlink (which  
I'd not really expected to survive the battle, but was happy to find out  
had) I called the Thunder, leaning against the wall. As the overall pain  
had dissipated, a sharper pain had made itself known, and I felt along  
my ribs, until I winced as a bruise, more-than-likely a cracked rib,  
protested at the pressure.  
  
"SHODAN?" I asked, squirming until I found a position to take some of  
the pressure off the rib.  
  
"Yes, Kyle?" the AI replied quietly.  
  
"Are you watching the fight?"  
  
"Yes, There's a reconnaissance droid hovering near where you were  
previously standing." I shrugged, then looked at Taro.  
  
"Can you teleport a large amount of hot water on Taro?" I asked.  
  
"Taro?"  
  
"The Minotaur."  
  
"Does the salinity of the water matter?" she inquired. I shook my head.  
  
"Just the temperature. Can you do it?"  
  
"One moment."  
  
The air above Taro rippled, and suddenly a few cubic meters of water  
fell on Taro, the steam rising from the water testifying it's  
temperature. Taro shrank back into his human form, the look of surprise  
on his face turning to one of pain as the Supreme Thunder Jupiter had  
thrown impacted. When the lightshow ended, Taro lie smoking in a puddle  
of cooling water.  
  
"Wha..." Makoto asked, de-transforming.  
  
"A curse ... like Ranma's." I said, walking over to her. Cologne  
appeared, and knelt by Taro.  
  
"He'll be fine, "she said, looking at the large pool of water. Sniffing  
the air, I looked down and grinned. There was the distinct odor of  
sulfur coming from the water, and if I was willing to taste it, I was  
pretty sure It would be salty. Noticing my grin, Makoto asked what I  
thought was so funny.  
  
"SHODAN get the water from an undersea volcano. Hot water nobody would  
miss." Makoto nodded, and turned to Cologne, who hopped over towards us.  
"Well, I'm pretty sure you're the same couple that came to see me  
before." Shrugging, I remembered she was immune to the universal  
changes, and glanced at Makoto, who was looking at Taro still.  
  
"He's not that nice a guy.. trust me. He needed that." I said. She  
nodded, but still looked sad, and I shrugged again, unsure of what to  
say.  
  
"Your skills have improved quite a bit since we last spoke. You could  
probably have given son-in-law a run for his money if you had been here  
around when I first arrived." Cologne said, carefully.  
  
Nodding, I looked around, then back at her.  
  
"Did you want something, Elder Cologne?" I asked finally.  
  
"I'm sure you'll understand my concern if you think on it for a moment."  
I frowned, then turned to Makoto, then looked up at the sky. Finally, I  
realized it.  
  
"You're afraid that I can now use the lessons for the techniques I  
have."  
  
"Very good. Before, even she," Cologne motioned towards Makoto, " would  
have been unable to learn them. Now however, you're almost at the level  
to learn them." I frowned at her.  
  
"Ranma, at the level we're at, beat your village best. Certainly we're  
above the level you can teach those techniques at."  
  
"Heh. You have the consistency and training, but you're both  
inexperienced. You let your bodies react before you have time to develop  
a strategy. If I had to theorize, you two got the skills, but didn't  
receive the memory of using them. Discipline is a big part of the art,  
and you both have little, compared to Shampoo, or even Akane."  
  
"Okay.. so.. Ranma intends to teach us, it shouldn't take too long for  
our minds to catch up. After that, we could more than likely learn The  
Chestnut fist, maybe even the Hiryu Shoten Ha." Cologne's eyes narrowed,  
and I continued, carefully.  
  
"Of course, you could always offer to teach them to us..." Although I  
said it dissmissively, she and I knew that I was asking her to.  
  
"An ... interesting proposition. And in return for such a favor?"  
  
"I've got a starship that could decimate your village in a few shots..."  
  
"Don't threaten me, boy."  
  
"Err, sorry. How about I... ahh..." I trailed off, unsure what I really  
had to offer.  
  
"Well, child, I could make you honorary Amazons ... as long as you  
promise that you begin an Amazon tribe somewhere in another universe."  
  
"That's... kind of weak..." Makoto said, haltingly.  
  
"You two seem incapable of offering anything of value... All I ask is a  
simple promise..." I blinked, then smiled.  
  
"You just want us to establish a society in which women, or a woman is  
in charge, then? And the strongest warriors are held in the highest  
respect?"  
  
"Sounds pretty diffi... oh.. oh!" Makoto said, understanding.  
  
"That is loosely what we would consider an Amazonian society. We also  
believe in tradition and honor."  
  
"Tradition, right. Thousands of years worth? We can cover it. No  
problem. Right Makoto?" Makoto nodded.  
  
"Right! And Honor. Very honorable people. Leaders. Defenders of Justice,  
even." She said.  
  
"I seem to be missing something..." Cologne said, scowling. Makoto and I  
smiled.  
  
"DEAL!" we said at the same time. Cologne blinked, then shrugged.  
  
"Just so long as you keep that promise..." Cologne said.  
  
"We have every intention of keeping it." Makoto said, firmly. Looking us  
both over quickly, she nodded.  
  
"Very well, then. Stop by the Nekohanten once your minds have caught up  
with your bodies." Cologne hopped away then, and I looked at Makoto.  
  
"Amazonian Crystal Tokyo..." I said, softly.  
  
"Wo ai ni!" Makoto said, jumping onto me in an Amazon glomp. I winced,  
falling to the pavement painfully as the cracked rib flared up from the  
pressure.  
  
"Oh? What happened?" Makoto asked, getting serious.  
  
"Ahh, I busted a rib falling." I said, straightening up.  
  
"How bad?" she asked, softly.  
  
"A crack, I think. Nothing too too bad." Makoto quirked a brow at me.  
  
"Amazonian Crystal Tokyo, eh? Guess you'll have to beat me in a fight."  
She said with a smirk. I shrugged, then stood, looking at Taro before  
turning to Makoto.  
  
"I'm going up to the 'Thunder' for a while. I've got a couple ...  
projects I want to check up on." Makoto nodded, and I called to be  
beamed up.  
  
Arriving, Captain Archer stepped over to me, and I nodded to him,  
waiting for whatever he had to tell me.  
  
"My Lord, the report from Engineering is ready, and the Science Staff  
has requested your presence when possible."  
  
"Science, eh? Well ... let me go over that report, first. Anything  
else?"  
  
"A few incidents during shore leave. Your ... arrangement with the US  
Government has kept any lasting problems from arising, but..." I nodded.  
"That report, and a few others are on your desk. And when you're ready,  
I'll notify the Science crew of your imminent arrival."  
  
Disappearing into my office (A small antechamber off the main bedroom  
with a rather nice desk) I sat down, and began reading the report I'd  
asked for earlier.  
  
Basically, the report told me that, despite recorded and measured  
changes during the universal rewrite, no combination or reconfiguration  
of the hyperdrive could produce the effect over a noticeable area.  
Sighing, I pushed it aside. While it would be nice to be able to rewrite  
reality as I see fit, I hadn't placed much hope in it. At least I know  
knew the Jupiter's Thunder was capable of recording and somewhat  
analyzing such universal disturbances.  
  
The next report was smaller, basically describing a crewman who'd gotten  
in a fight with a civilian over the layout of a Super Star Destroyer.  
Glancing at the holographic globe, I wondered what the US Government was  
thinking.  
  
I'd phoned the president, and offered to speak to him personally ... and  
wasn't surprised to be declined. Beaming down to the Oval Office (after  
beaming the Secret Servicemen nearby out onto the lawn below) The  
President was more willing to listen. Explaining the need for shore  
leave, I offered some printed information on fusion reactors that would  
advance the United States power situation beyond 2000.  
  
His initial defiance was culled somewhat as I showed him via the  
commlink exactly what he was opposing, and proving with a heavy  
turbolaser blast to the Nevada desert that it wasn't just a screenshot  
from Star Wars, he agreed, and I went on my way, moments before the  
Secret Service burst in, weapons drawn.  
  
The officer who was assaulted attracted little attention, but more than  
I, the US Government, or his superiors would have liked. Writing a quick  
note to keep him off the next few rotations, I flipped through the rest  
of the reports, nodding.  
  
Finally standing, a half hour later, I stretched, before wincing in  
pain. Leaving the office, I found Captain Archer waiting on the bridge,  
and I called him over quietly.  
  
"Yes, Lord Kyle?"  
  
"Medical, then Science. I'm on my way."  
  
I turned and left after he nodded, and made my way to the turbo lift  
that would take me to the first aid station we'd passed during the  
initial tour. The Officer in Duty had his back turned to me as I  
entered, and I coughed slightly to get his attention.  
  
"Don't be impatient, trooper, I'll be done in a moment," he said,  
putting another bottle back on the shelf before punching something in on  
the datapad he held in his hand.  
  
"First time anyone's treated me like that on my ship..." I quipped. The  
Datapad hit the floor, and the officer spun, eyes wide.  
  
"My Lord!"  
  
"Well ... if you have to. Leave that pause between the words out. I'm a  
superior, not a Deity."  
  
"Yes, my Lord!" he said, shaking slightly as he stood at attention. I  
sat down in a chair, slowly, before waving at him to relax.  
  
"Stand at ease. I'm in need of some medical assistance. I cracked a rib  
earlier, and was wondering what you could do for me."  
  
The Officer sighed in relieve, before picking up some sort of scanner.  
Holding it over the area I indicated, he waited for it to beep, before  
turning to a large screen on the back wall. An image of the rib,  
transparent musculature around it, was displayed, text scrolling down  
the side of the screen slowly.  
  
"It's cracked, all right, but not much... mor.. hmm.." he said, trailing  
off.  
  
"Something wrong?" I asked, standing beside him. he jumped then stepped  
away nervously, before pointing.  
  
"That," he said, circling a slight bump on the bone, "is a healed  
fracture..."  
  
"But that's the one I got today," I said, carefully.  
  
"Yes.. either you re-broke it, or it's already started to heal."  
  
"Keen," I muttered softly. Turning to the Doctor, I quirked a brow, "So  
what can you do for me?"  
  
"Well Lord Kyle, With a simple fracture, the best I can offer are some  
pain killers. Had it been a complete break, we would have to wrap them,  
and hope they set close to normal, but..." He trailed off, looking back  
at the X-ray-like image onscreen.  
  
"Well, gimmie something that wont cause drowsiness." I said, finally.  
The Doctor nodded, then handed me a pad to sign. Jotting my name down  
quickly, I handed the pad back, and turned to go, swallowing one of the  
pills in the bottle as I did so. Turning to glance at the Doctor as I  
left, I nodded before the door shut behind me.  
  
The walk to Science was a little lengthier, and I wondered what was so  
important that they had called for me, instead of sending me a report.  
  
A few minutes later, I arrived, the Officer in Charge waiting  
expectantly for me.  
  
"Ah, Lord Kyle. I'm glad to see you got our summons."  
  
"Ahh... yeah. What was it you wanted to see me about?"  
  
"Right to the point, eh? It's about the Jusenkyo Water you had  
collected." I perked up, my curiosity piqued.  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"After purifying the water, we tested the minerals and impurities, and  
found that, when added to standard water, they would create a one-time  
curse, much like the 'Instant Spring of Drowned Man' packets you told us  
about. However, even without the impurities, the Jusenkyo waters  
exhibited form-altering properties." I nodded.  
  
"That's hardly startling," I said, softly, "or new."  
  
"Yes, my lord, but after breaking down the water into it's component  
atoms, we discovered that the oxygen gas carries the curse, while the  
hydrogen stays hydrogen."  
  
"So the curse is a mainly held in the oxygen atoms.. neat. And we  
breathe oxygen, so... heh. I guess that makes sense ... somehow." The  
Officer nodded, then smiled, letting me know there was more. I waited,  
and he began speaking once more.  
  
"The Oxygen we obtained was minimal, as we had a small supply of  
Jusenkyo water to work with. However, one of our Scientists tried  
replacing some of the Tibanna gas in a standard sidearm with the oxygen.  
Without the potent gas, the blast was strong enough at it's highest  
setting to stun a full grown man, but the interesting side-effect was  
the beam carries the curse, much like the water and oxygen."  
  
I stared at him.  
  
"You're saying I can curse someone with a blaster?" I asked  
incredulously.  
  
"Precisely, my Lord!"  
  
"How many shots per weapon?" I asked, thinking.  
  
"Not too many. The Tibanna gas was one of the primary reactants, and  
with it's potency retarded by the cursed oxygen, even a fully charged  
blaster is limited. Eight shots with a sidearm, Fifteen with a Rifle." I  
nodded, thinking.  
  
"Have you tried using the one-time curse water oxygen?"  
  
"Er..."  
  
"I take that as a no. See if you can get a temporary-curse in a standard  
sidearm."  
  
"Yes, My lord!"  
  
"And..." I paused, before looking at a wall sensor set near the ceiling,  
"SHODAN?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Officer..." I looked at the science officer, who jumped to attention.  
  
"Lieutenant Commander Cantrell, My Lord!"  
  
"...Cantrell has permission to requisition a squad of stormtroopers for  
retrieval of Jusenkyo water." I nodded, and the Science officer,  
saluted, before going to work.  
  
Looking at the gray, well lit corridors of my ship, I sighed, realizing  
what I had to do now.  
  
"Nabiki..." I said, before calling SHODAN and telling her to beam me to  
Makoto.  
  
**************************  
Chapter 10.. Done. Chapter 11, coming... eventually.  
  
BTW, last chapter was initially spell checked by Nate, and I forgot to  
mention it. Soo... Thanks, Nate! 


	11. Chapter 11

Appearing in the under-used apartment Makoto and I shared, I heard water  
running in the shower, and sat down at the computer, waiting for her to  
finish up. A knock at the door interrupted my AMV Marathon, and I opened  
it, surprised to see...  
  
"Boy! How could you disrespect your Father so?"  
  
"...Mr. Saotome?" I asked, twitching.  
  
"He's right, son. You're honor bound to marry Nabiki."  
  
"Mr. Tendo?" I stared in disbelief, "but..."  
  
"You know your father engaged you to Nabiki before you were born. Just  
like Ranma and Akane!" Mr. Tendo said, looking to be on the verge of  
crying.  
  
"But..." I said, disbelieving, "my father's in another universe!"  
  
"Now son, your father may have been flighty at times.." Mr. Saotome  
started.  
  
"Err.. not like that. He's pretty down-to-Earth but..." I said, quickly.  
Mr. Tendo nodded, then froze. Turning I saw Makoto, staring in shock at  
our visitors, wrapped only in a towel.  
  
"Ahh..." I said, the only coherent thought I could form.  
  
"HOW DARE YOU CHEAT ON MY LITTLE GIRL!" Mr. Tendo roared.  
  
"It's not what it looks like!" I yelled from my new position, behind the  
counter. It was funny on a screen, but in your face, that was a  
seriously intimidating move.  
  
"Care to explain that, then?" Mr. Saotome said from beside me. Turning  
to look at him, I frowned, then realized Makoto was in my lap, holding  
onto me about as tightly as I was to her.  
  
"Err..."  
  
A new voice spoke up from the doorway, and I realized Nabiki had  
arrived.  
  
"Hey, Daddy. Is Kyle here?"  
  
"He's inside, Nabiki." I heard Mr. Tendo reply, curtly. A moment later Makoto  
and I looked up at Nabiki, who looked down at us with a small grin.  
  
"Had I known you two'd be doing this, I'd have brought my camera."  
  
"Hey, Nabiki. Have you seen Kyle and Makoto?" I heard Ranma ask. I poked  
my head out from behind the counter, and waved. Makoto popped up a  
moment later, blushing, and Ranma quirked a brow.  
  
"Kyle and Makoto.. oh.... Maybe I'll come back..." Ranma said, slowly.  
Then Mr. Saotome stood, and Ranma paled.  
  
"And Pops!? I.. er... Bye." He said, backing up towards the door  
quickly. Makoto jumped up.  
  
"It's not what it looks like!" She cried. However, her towel, loosened  
by her dash to hide, chose that moment to fall to her feet, and Ranma's  
white face turned red. And then Akane walked in.  
  
"Ranma! Why'd you... run..." Akane looked at Makoto, who furiously tried  
to cover herself with her hands, the towel forgotten. Then she looked at  
Ranma, who was pressed up against the wall, eyes shut tightly.  
  
"It's not what it looks like!" He said, the plaster around him cracking  
as he pushed himself into it harder.  
  
"Trying to seduce another teacher, Ranma? Isn't Ms. Hinako enough?"  
  
"Akane? What'd Ran-Chan do now?" Ukyo said, walking in the door. I  
turned to Mr. Saotome, who was back to hiding on the floor, and sighed.  
Stepping out from behind the counter, I picked up the towel Makoto had  
lost and handed it to her, then looked at the two Fiancées of Ranma's.  
  
"Actually, there's a pretty good explanation for all this..." I said,  
hoping I could talk the situation down. Then the wall beside my door  
exploded, and Shampoo walked in, Mr. Tendo and Nabiki quickly joining  
Mr. Saotome behind the counter. Paling at the forming situation, I  
quickly whispered to Makoto to transform.  
  
"Why?" She asked, puzzled.  
  
"RANMA!" Someone called from outside. Ranma, by now, had slouched over  
in defeat, knowing the inevitable was about to take place. Makoto,  
recognizing a Nerima Wrecking Crew buildup, ducked into the closet,  
though I noticed Shampoo glare at her departing figure.  
  
"Ranma being unfaithful to Shampoo?" She asked, turning to Ranma.  
  
"Err... could we take this outside?" I asked, as Ryouga stopped in the  
doorway. Everyone turned to me, like I'd grown a third eye, and I  
crossed my arms, pointing at various things around my apartment.  
  
"Irreplaceable, rare, expensive, expensive, irreplaceable..." I said.  
The others continued to stare, and I moved over towards Nabiki, placing  
my arm around her. "I'll sue." I said. Everyone shuffled outside, and I  
grinned, then noticed Soun and Genma watching us with big smiles.  
  
"Oh damn." I said, backing away from Nabiki.  
  
"Way to go boy! I knew you had it in you!" Mr. Saotome said. The closet  
door behind me opened, and Sailor Jupiter stepped out, just in time to  
hear Mr. Tendo.  
  
"Now that you've chosen between my daughter and that other girl, we'll  
go to a temple and get you two married."  
  
"WHAT!?"  
  
"Err.. who are you?" Soun asked, confused. The Senshi of Lightning  
growled.  
  
"I'm that 'other girl.'"  
  
"Ohh... I see.."  
  
"Mako-Chan? Mr. Tendo? Outside?" I said. Turning around, I noticed Genma  
poking at some of the electronics I'd pointed out as expensive and rare,  
and growled. Before he could respond however, Jupiter spoke up.  
  
"Wait one minute, Kyle. What'd he mean about you choosing?"  
  
"I.. err.. you know..." I stumbled for words, and Nabiki slipped out the  
door, my camcorder in her hand. Glaring at Genma, who'd returned to  
cataloguing my most expensive Items, I spun, catching him with the back  
of my foot, and launched him out my window. Cringing as the glass  
shattered, I turned to the remaining two occupants, and sighed.  
  
"Let's... go outside." I said, sounding resigned.  
  
Outside, we joined Ranma and Friends, who'd been arguing since leaving.  
Ryouga was being held back by Akane, who's hand was on his shoulder, but  
that probably wouldn't last much longer.  
  
"Now," Soun said, turning to us, "Kyle will marry Nabiki, and that's  
that. You've already seen how she tried to seduce Ranma."  
  
"WHAT?" Jupiter screamed, the other Fiancées echoing her. Ranma stepped  
up beside me, and whispered:  
  
"Your presence doesn't seem to be helping, 'sensei.'"  
  
"Diffusing this particular situation would take a miracle," I said back to him.  
  
"At least it can't get any worse," Ranma said, nonchalantly. His  
clueless look was replaced with one of surprise as I buried my elbow in  
his gut.  
  
"How could you!" I shouted, before an ominous wind started to blow.  
Turning around, Ranma and I saw Kuno and Mousse, glaring at us.  
  
"Verily, I see the two practitioners of the Dark Arts now battle for my  
loves. No doubt you seek to do despicable acts upon the bodies of those  
who would, unchained, admit their love to me."  
  
"That sucked Kuno, and I told you before, we don't practice. We're too  
good to be in those early stages."  
  
"Yeah... uhh.. what he said!" Ranma amended.  
  
"Saotome, I've had enough or your thievery of my precious Shampoo,"  
Mousse said quietly. Someone landed beside me, and I turned to see  
Jupiter, her back to me and Ranma's, as the other Fiancées moved in on  
her.  
  
"I see you've enchanted another goddess, foul Magus!" Kuno said,  
pointing his bokken at me.  
  
"He has not!" Mr. Tendo interjected from behind a nearby trashcan, "he's  
marrying Nabiki, and that's final!"  
  
"How... How dare you string along women like this... You... You're no better  
than Ranma!" Ryouga cried, his glare shifting from me to Ranma,  
continually.  
  
"Right... Me versus the buffoon and P-Chan, Ranma versus Mousse, the  
buffoon and P-Chan, Makoto versus the Fiancée brigade," Cologne appeared  
from a rooftop, and I sighed. Then groaned as I heard a demented cackle  
from behind me.  
  
Turning, I saw Happosai, his attention divided between staring at  
Jupiter and the Fiancées, and glaring at me.  
  
"I'll teach you to use my own school against its master!" Happosai  
shouted at me, though he trailed off as his gaze fell upon Jupiter.  
"Leg...." He said, a spot of drool escaping his goofy grin.  
  
"You've pissed off the letch, too?" Ranma asked, from behind me. I  
nodded, hoping he'd see it, before Cologne spoke up.  
  
"Since you're already here, I wanted to let you two know that part of  
your initiation means proving you can hold your own against-"  
  
"No!" I shouted. Cutting her off, "there's no way in hell I'm fighting  
you, too!"  
  
"Well, actually, I was going to say Mousse here, but since you seem so  
adamant about it, maybe I'll have both Mousse and Shampoo fight you two.  
After all, it seems you two fight well as a team... and Son-in-law seems  
willing to lend a hand."  
  
"Oh.. well.. shit." I said, in English. Pulling out my commlink, I spoke  
quickly: "SHODAN, get us out of here!"  
  
"Negative. The transporter is currently disassembled for maintenance. You  
signed off on it, remember?"  
  
"Oh.. damn."  
  
"We'll keep an eye on your situation and offer support when possible." I  
hear Archer say, before a swirling bandanna cut the commlink in half.  
  
Spinning, I glared at Ryouga, who returned it just as powerfully. I  
crossed my arms, snapping my fingers in frustration, unable to find out  
what they meant by support. As if summoned by the snap, a light  
Turbolaser blast impacted nearby, turning the street into a roiling,  
bubbling mess of molten asphalt.  
  
"I see the wicked sorcerer has some small degree of skill..." Kuno said,  
preparing to charge, "no matter! Your evil skills are no match for my  
righteous blade! Have at you!"  
  
And the fight commenced.  
  
While Ranma and I dodged chain-laden weapons, Happo-daikarins, belts,  
bandannas and bokkens, Jupiter was busy weaving in and out of spatulas,  
bonbori, and flying fists. At first, it was relatively simple... all I  
had to do was keep moving, and as long as I kept away from falling into  
a pattern, I only had to block the few hits that would have landed.  
Meanwhile Ranma batted away the firecrackers that Happosai threw, doing  
something similar to my dodging.  
  
"You've improved quite a bit, Kyle..." Ranma said, ducking under a  
massive spiked ball.  
  
"Yeah? Thanks, I think," I replied, twisting out of the path of an  
incoming bokken.  
  
"Bakusai Tenketsu!" Leaping as fast and as far as I could, I managed to  
land beside Sailor Jupiter, who's fight had moved a bit away. Behind me,  
the pavement exploded, and I heard Ranma start up his chestnut fist.  
  
Happosai, who'd been blasted away from the explosion, suddenly found  
himself the target of a barrage of Turbolaser blasts, And the telltale  
sound of TIE-Fighters let me know that we had some air support.  
  
Turning around, I ducked under an incoming Bonbori, and stared in  
surprise at Shampoo.  
  
"Great-Grandmother said attack, so Shampoo attack." I nodded, then leapt  
back as she swung again. Feeling something behind me, I leapt, and  
Kuno's bokken slashed through the space I'd previously occupied. Landing  
again, Jupiter turned to me, and smiled.  
  
"I forgive you, now.." Then she back flipped, miniature spatulas  
embedding in the pavement where she'd stood.  
  
"Thanks," I muttered, before wincing as a bandanna cut a shallow gash in  
my arm. The cracked rib, while obviously almost fully healed at the  
beginning of the fight, was still sore, and I winced as a Bokken strike  
I'd started to roll with tagged it.  
  
"Ha! Feel the heaven's vengeance, knave!"  
  
A turbolaser blast caught the posing Kendoist, and when the glare died  
down, a dog sat, a pile of clothes and a bokken lying nearby.  
  
"Arf?"  
  
"Thank you, Cantrell." I said, quietly, before feeling static build up  
in the air. As I dodged another chain-mounted... thing, I glanced at  
Makoto, who was in the middle of casting a Supreme Thunder.  
  
Ranma dropped beside me, glancing at Kuno, who was trying to swing his  
bokken with his teeth, before leveling his gaze with me.  
  
"After this, we talk."  
  
I shrugged, then leapt, Ranma in the other direction as a green and  
black blast of Ki shot between us. A chain managed to wrap around my  
foot, and I ate pavement, my breath knocked out of me. Ranma leapt in at  
Ryouga, and began fighting in close, while Mousse prepared to fire more  
weapons at me. Rolling To the side before I was impaled, I stood, and  
leapt at Mousse, who had started to pull me in, but wasn't fast enough.  
  
I landed a few feet away, and he launched another spiked ball at me,  
which I leapt over, and continues, until I was behind him. Kicking the  
chain attached to my foot, I managed to wrap the chain around his neck,  
and stomped, pulling Mousse to the ground with a thud.  
  
Before he could recover, I pulled his arms up and pinned them beneath my  
legs, Grasping the chain around his neck and pulling tighter.  
  
"Mousse!" Shampoo cried, running towards me, bonbori raised. Before she  
could get within striking distance, though, a Sparkling Wide Pressure  
caught her in the back, and she screamed as she convulsed, before  
falling to the ground. A few streams of smoke rose from her, but she  
appeared to be breathing, so I relaxed.  
  
Mousse however, was livid, and he threw me off, rising to his feet with  
newfound strength. Grabbing a hefty rock, I threw, and the missile  
struck the blind martial artist in the back of the head, shattering.  
Mousse fell beside Shampoo, and didn't move. Blinking, I moved over to  
him, hoping he was okay. Reaching down, I felt a pulse, and saw that he  
was breathing and sighed.  
  
"Interesting..." someone said from right beside me. I screamed, and  
threw a punch, which was stopped easily. Cologne looked at me, and I  
cringed.  
  
"Sorry, Just a little mid-fight jitters, or something," I said, quietly.  
  
"Mid-fight? It looks to be over."  
  
Looking around, I realized she was right. Ukyo lie smoking, much like  
Shampoo, her spatula grasped in her hand. Looking closely, I could see  
the discoloration electricity can cause, and looked at Shampoo, who's  
clothes had burned away from her back. However, where I expected charred  
flesh, I saw a pink burn. Apparently the magic of the attack had only  
allowed the attack to shock the Amazon.  
  
Kuno was growling at me from behind a Prone Akane, who seemed to have  
been brained by Ukyo or Shampoo early on in the fight. Ryouga had  
disappeared, and a nearby wall with a hole similar in size to the lost  
boy answered the unspoken question 'where?' Whether he'd gotten lost  
finding his way back, or been knocked out going through the concrete was  
anyone's guess, and I wasn't in the mood to find out.  
  
A line of smoking craters traveling around a street corner were the only  
indication as to the cause of Happosai's disappearance, and a few  
smoking holes in nearby houses, and the whine of Twin Ion Engines  
overhead explained why he wasn't coming back.  
  
"Interesting allies you two have..." Cologne muttered, poking at the  
cooling asphalt with her cane. Turning to us, she frowned.  
  
"As martial artists and, you two preformed rather poorly..." I stood up  
and glared down at her, crossing my arms.  
  
"We won didn't we?" Jupiter asked, sliding up beside me.  
  
"Yes, and quite effectively, too. But you both finished your opponents  
off... hmm.. lets say it was less-than-honorable, striking them in the  
back," she said, then turned to me, " or the back of the head, as the  
case may be."  
  
"Ahh.. well... I did what I had to in order to win. And I didn't want an  
enraged Mousse going up against Jupiter. He can be dangerous when he's  
angry."  
  
"Be that as it may... and not that I don't agree with you there, you two  
fought more like soldiers than martial artists. A 'whatever it takes'  
approach to fighting, as opposed to 'win honorably' is what I saw, and  
while effective, it wasn't very honest. Choking Mousse with his chains  
as well..."  
  
"Ehh, my old fighting style tended to focus on choking people into  
submission instead of trading blows till someone fell over," I shrugged.  
Cologne nodded, then hopped up on her staff.  
  
"You two have passed the main initiation tests. I may not approve of  
your methods, but the laws do allow such defeats to count as victories."  
  
"Keen."  
  
"Wo ai ni!" Jupiter said, jumping onto me. I rolled my eyes, and she let  
go, turning aback to Cologne, who looked to be deciding whether to frown  
at us, or smile. Finally, she turned and hopped away.  
  
"Not too bad, you two.. Cologne was right about your finishing moves,  
but at least during the fight you handled everything well enough." Ranma  
said.  
  
"Now that that's over, we can get back to business." Mr. Tendo said,  
rising from behind his trashcan. I rolled my eyes, and watched as he  
approached, avoiding the smoking molten craters from the heavy  
turbolaser blasts, the Bakusai Tenketsu craters, the small Happo-  
Daikarin craters, and the few Ki-blast craters littering the streets.  
  
About halfway there, the whine of a TIE-Fighter grew, and a green blast  
struck Mr. Tendo, another small dog taking his place.  
  
The TIE circled once, before slowing, finally landing nearby. The Pilot  
clambered out of the lower hatch, and approached, saluting me. After I  
returned it, he removed his helmet, and placed it under his arm,  
carefully.  
  
"Thanks for the earlier assist..."  
  
"Lieutenant Pullman, My Lord."  
  
"-Pullman. Though... why'd you shoot Mr. Tendo?" The dog was currently  
crying over Akane, who was starting to stir.  
  
"He looked to be preparing an attack, and I moved, Lord. I apologize for  
the mistake."  
  
Nodding, I looked at the Tie Fighter, and noticed the lasers affixed to  
each Panel had been hastily added.  
  
"Are those permanent curse blasters, or temporary?" I asked, nodding my  
head towards the Fighter.  
  
"Temporary. Lieutenant Commander Cantrell could only make eight, and  
affixed them to two TIE fighters in time. Captain Archer was adamant  
about getting us launched."  
  
I nodded again, before telling him to return to the thunder. Turning to  
look at the combatants, who were beginning to awaken, Makoto and I  
slipped into our apartment, Ranma following us, before we could be  
spotted and everything began again. 


	12. Chapter 12

After the adrenaline wore off, Makoto, Ranma and I stared at the hole in the wall, before deciding to just teleport up to the Thunder, the added distance from the still-volatile Nerimians something the three of us silently agreed upon.  
  
"We need to find a way to get... someplace saner," Makoto said, finally. I nodded, and Ranma sighed, almost enviously at the idea.  
  
"See if they found a way to power your communicator externally... I'll see what SHODAN can do for us."  
  
"Right. I'll sit here and be unimportant." Ranma said, scowling. I shrugged, then grinned.  
  
"You should enjoy it, then, seeing as you're usually right in the middle of things." Turning my back while his mouth fell open but no retort came back, I faced a nearby monitor.  
  
"SHODAN?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I need... information. Were there any positive results during that re- write of the universe?"  
  
"Nothing solid. The Hyperdrive of the Jupiter's Thunder isn't like the FTL Drive Delacroix designed on the Von Braun." I blinked, then quirked a brow.  
  
"You remember all that?"  
  
"Of course. Everything up to and through my second appearance in your world's media."  
  
"... Keen. Could you reprogram a Devestator to manufacture the FTL Drive? Your ambitions near the end of System Shock 2 were, oddly enough, similar to our needs, now."  
  
"As I've noticed. However, While Marie's Drive could, with substantial reprogramming, change the very fabric of the universe, Tearing it, then slipping through it, into another is beyond it's capabilities. Without schematics for a device that would allow dimensional hopping, the best we could accomplish is creating an 'ideal' universe."  
  
"Not quite the same as being there..."  
  
"Hardly. And while I have plenty of time to wait out the change, standard human lifetimes would only see a change in a galactic sector."  
  
"Well, see if there's a way to use the FTL Drive's... effects... effectively."  
  
"Affirmative."  
  
Turning to look at Ranma, I shrugged, before looking at the door Makoto had exited through.  
  
"So... am I the talk of the day at the Tendo place, or what?"  
  
"Not really. Pops and Mr. Tendo are usually too busy trying to get Akane and I together. Some times they use you and Nabiki's... um... 'Relationship' as pressure, but knowing it's all fake kind of kills that."  
  
"How... astute."  
  
"Something like that. Can I ask you something?"  
  
"Ask away. I am a teacher, remember?" I chuckled, and Ranma frowned, before continuing.  
  
"Can I come with you, when you leave?" I stared.  
  
"What?" I finally managed to ask.  
  
"Well... I'd want to come back, of course, but if I could go see other worlds, maybe I could learn some new techniques... something to stop that old letch and the ghoul..."  
  
"Ahh... that makes a little more sense, I suppose. I dunno. It might be a one-way trip. And we still have to figure out how to get Mara home... and..." I trailed off, just thinking of the chaos that would erupt in Nerima if I took Ranma.  
  
"Well, if that's the case, I don't think abandoning everyone is right... but if you can come back, see about bringing me some new techniques."  
  
"... Right."  
  
Ranma left, then, to go to the bathroom, and as the door slid shut behind him, I muttered softly to myself.  
  
"Stupid male-bonding sessions."  
  
A few minutes later, Makoto entered, though there was a frown on her face as she sat down across from me.  
  
"What's up?" I queried.  
  
"We can leave... but we have to do so with the same amount of bodies as we came here with."  
  
"But.... Mara, AND Nabiki?" Makoto Nodded, grimly, and I considered things. If it were truly like that, we were basically screwed. We couldn't drop Mara off, and we couldn't drop Nabiki off, or go to Makoto's world, without everyone tagging along. Bringing Ranma instead of Nabiki wouldn't help any, and randomly kidnapping someone to be transposed to another world jut wasn't... right.  
  
"Well... what do you suggest?"  
  
"Hmm... Ami said that the mystical field that pulled us here is pre- defined, and... 'Incapable of mutating to adapt to a change of mass as great as a quarter of the overall bio-matter."  
  
"You memorized what she said, eh?" Makoto nodded, and I smiled, before looking out the window, at the edge of Earth, shrouded in darkness from this angle.  
  
"Well," I finally ventured, "If we bring Nabiki, this Universe will adapt, but I don't know how she will cope. I mean, I'm confused by all this... weirdness in my life, and I'm sure the rest of you are, as well. For those not affected, this isn't even... I don't know... a thought, or anything. But to us..."  
  
"I know. I just..." Makoto sighed, and I spotted a tear in the corner of her eye, " I Love you, you know... but I want to go home. And now this..."  
  
"We... should talk to Nabiki. Maybe Usagi can send her home... she's got plenty of power, you know?"  
  
"Yeah, but... I worry, sometimes..."  
  
"About?" I asked, puzzled.  
  
"Back in your world, when she had her... um... 'Breakdown,' I could tell the two of you were getting close... and I worry that..."  
  
"Oh... heh... sounds like some kind of... drama-show-thing..." I said, frowning. Makoto glared for a moment, then shrugged.  
  
"So... you think I'll fall for her, or something?" I asked, finally. Makoto shrugged, then smiled.  
  
"Sounds kind of... stupid, doesn't it?" she asked.  
  
"I dunno. I can see how you'd think that... I think... or something..." I trailed off, not wanting her to worry too much.  
  
"Well, look. We'll talk to Nabiki, and, worse to worse, Ranma can sub in for her, when we go, or we can find someone willing to venture to a new world. I'm sure on this earth, just like mine, there are probably people looking for that 'big escape' from life."  
  
Makoto nodded, and the door opened, Ranma entering.  
  
"SHODAN?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"We're going back down. Put us near Nabiki... we need to talk."  
  
"Might I suggest..."  
  
"Not really. I'm tired, and after this, I'm going to sleep. Just do it, and stand by to bring us back."  
  
"As you wish." Despite my flash of annoyance with the AI, she hadn't sounded upset... in fact, she almost sounded... amused...  
  
We appeared in the Tendo Household. Makoto stood behind a room-divider, along with Ranma, and I, a couple feet away, fell into hot water. Literally and metaphorically speaking.  
  
Poking my soaked, shocked head above the water, I met Nabiki's questioning gaze, a drop of water falling from her chin and right onto her...  
  
"GAH!!!!" I shouted, intelligently. Trying to stand, the water caught my clothes, pulling me off balance, and I fell, fortunately back instead of into her nude body.  
  
Coughing as I surface, I spotted Makoto frowning at us, and Ranma was nowhere to be seen, obviously the smartest of the three arrivals.  
  
"Nice entrance, Kyle. What prompted you to. drop in?" Nabiki smirked, having wrapped a towel around her while I sputtered and gagged.  
  
"Oh," I managed between gasps, "I was just looking to put myself in some hot water."  
  
"Cute. Though I've noticed you seem to be having some trouble... you know what they say, if you can't stand the heat..."  
  
Standing, I grinned, wiping my face, "yeah? Well... I'm not yet up to my neck, so..."  
  
"Har har. Kyle-Sensei," she said the last in a rather condescending tone, "you're all wet."  
  
"Yes, I noticed." I said, giving in. I hated dragging cliché's and puns out too long, and while I could think of a dozen more water-related sayings I could twist to fit the situation, Mr. Tendo chose that moment to barge in, and jump to conclusions.  
  
"Oh! At least, you've decided to accept the agreement by consummating your love for each other! Saotome, break out the Sake. Akane, drain the tub. Kasumi, prepare a feast! I hear wedding bells!"  
  
As Mr. Tendo marched off, tears spraying the walls of the hall (and totally missing Makoto, standing there) I looked at Nabiki, then Makoto, then sighed.  
  
"This sucks."  
  
A few minutes later, Nabiki, Makoto and I were on the Thunder once again, and I'd changed out of my wet clothes into some black, official-looking Imperial garb SHODAN'd had sent up for me.  
  
"So... what's up?" Nabiki asked, coolly. Makoto and I were sitting beside each other on one side of the lengthy conference table, while Nabiki occupied a seat across from us.  
  
"Well..." I briefly explained our dilemma to her, and as I finished, her brow creased in thought.  
  
"As much as I'd love to see what kind of trouble you all cause next, I am a bit... partial to my own home universe."  
  
"I understand... our only real hope is that, when we get to Makoto's world, Usagi should be able to send you home... not much of a hope, but... well..."  
  
"The dimmest glimmer of hope is a beacon in the inky blackness of despair."  
  
"Err... something like that."  
  
"Yeah... a paraphrase. I'll... well... I don't know. Can't you call this... Usagi was it?" Makoto and I nodded, and she continued, "Call her and ask her if she can do it?"  
  
Makoto shrugged and stood up, leaving the room to go communicate with her friends. When the door shut behind her, I leaned forward.  
  
"I don't think Makoto's too keen on you coming along..."  
  
"Oh? She afraid our faux engagement is something to fear?"  
  
"Yeah... she's worried about the 'maybes' and what might-have-been."  
  
"'Might-have-been?' Are you saying...?"  
  
"Look, the rewrite gave Makoto and I our Marriage... and I Love her as if she were my wife, because, in one reality, she is. But remember, you and I had our moments, too, and those weren't faux memories..." Nabiki nodded with what I said, then sighed.  
  
"Well... for what it's worth, I find myself wondering about that particular 'might-have-been' sometimes myself... more so, now that we're 'engaged.'"  
  
"Funny how that works out." I said with a grin, then I got serious, "Look... you're a... an extremely pretty young woman, and I'd be lying if I didn't say there wasn't some attraction there... you've got looks and brains, and... anyway... I'm married, now, and as long as Makoto is my wife, I won't compromise that marriage. So... If you decide to come along, we're friends, and you, and I, and my Wife have nothing to worry about, because we're all friends, okay?"  
  
Nabiki grinned, nodding slowly. "That's how it is, eh? I suppose I can live with that. Can you, Makoto?"  
  
"Eh?!" I said, spinning. Makoto stood behind me, having entered silently, and she was smiling down at me, putting my sudden terror to rest.  
  
"I'll agree."  
  
"Right. I'm going to let my heart slow down... you go ahead and talk about what Usagi said." I rested my head on the table, the blood pounding in my ears.  
  
"Usagi said she wasn't sure, but since you were my friend, she'll do everything in her power to get you home. Knowing Usagi, she'll find a way. Promises like that... she has a habit of fulfilling, no matter the opposition."  
  
"I concur," I muttered softly from my resting place. My heart was slowing down, but along with it came exhaustion, the adrenaline rushes of the day beginning to wear off.  
  
"I suppose I can't really argue with that... I'll do it, but this Usagi better not have made the promise that beats the odds."  
  
I nodded wearily, then stood, slowly, moving to the door. It opened, and Captain Archer entered, saluting.  
  
"My Lord, I-"  
  
"I need to sleep Captain... show Nabiki here to... umm..." I trailed off, unsure where she would go.  
  
"Vice Admiral Tendo's Quarters are located down the hall from your own, Lord Kyle. SHODAN foresaw the addition of Nabiki and had one of the VIP Stateroom's converted for her usage."  
  
"...Vice Admiral? I thought I designated her a Simulated Lieutenant?"  
  
"Ahh... SHODAN chose to give her a full commission... and as to the rank... while I can't explain it in full detail, I'm assuming it was to ensure that, aside from the Bridge Staff, all personnel will be subordinate... aside from the heads of each department, who are of equal standing."  
  
"Oh... actually... that sounds like something I would have done."  
  
"Precisely why I went ahead and did it," SHODAN said from a hidden speaker.  
  
"Right. Well... I'm going to bed. Wake me in... Eight and a half hours, okay?"  
  
"Yes, My Lord."  
  
"Right. Oyasumi, then, Nabiki. Makoto... umm... If you're not tired... ahh, you can-" she cut me off before I could finish.  
  
"I am. Let's get some sleep, eh?" She smiled conspiratorially at me, and I rolled my eyes.  
  
"Better make that ten hours even, Captain."  
  
Ginning, Archer bowed, before turning to go. 


	13. Chapter 13

Someone was shaking me. Typically, I'd halfheartedly try to remove their arms from their torso, but it was a gentle shaking, as opposed to the harder, persistent shaking most people tried to rouse me with.  
  
Opening my eyes, I watched a blur slowly change into Makoto, and quirked a brow at her frown.  
  
"Something wrong?"  
  
"You and I have to be at work in ten minutes."  
  
"Err," I said, intelligently, looking at the clock nearby, " shouldn't... umm... we be more worried about getting home?"  
  
"Ami will contact us when the others are ready..."  
  
"Why wouldn't they be now?" I asked, pulling on a clean shirt.  
  
"They're," she paused to pull a shirt on, before continuing, "fighting some new foe. Pluto never saw it coming."  
  
"Ohh... like that Daimon that tore up my apartment?"  
  
"Yes, only, from what Ami said, the new enemy is slowly creating copies of our previous enemies... last time we talked, they were fighting off the Dead Moon Circus' Monster Of The Week."  
  
"How... lame."  
  
"No. Not lame. It's Bad. Ami said she wasn't sure what the others could expect after Galaxia's Pseudo-Senshi."  
  
"So... you want to get home soon to help fight the good fight, eh?"  
  
"Yes. But I also know responsibilities... and while we're here, we should do what we're paid to do. Namely, teach."  
  
"How... assertive." I said, pulling on my shoes.  
  
Makoto and I appeared on the school grounds a few minutes later, ready to teach. I noticed that Nabiki had yet to beam down, and considered calling for her, however, the bell chose that moment to ring, and I decided that, if she were skipping, she'd probably already have a good reason to do so.  
  
Entering the classroom, I waited for the talking and whispers to die down, before addressing the class.  
  
"I'm probably not going to be here much longer, so we're going to have to make this a bit faster, and a bit more self-help-ish."  
  
When the students stared at me, obviously not understanding much of what I said, I switched to Japanese and repeated myself.  
  
"Sensei?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Err... what I mean is, I'm going to have to point you all in the right direction, and let you all do the rest."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Right. So! How to speak English Properly... with only a few lessons."  
  
Thinking about how big and pointless a challenge this would be, I decided to cheat before I made too big a fool of myself, and left the room, returning a moment later with my computer and a DVD. Thankfully, SHODAN could teleport things from my apartment, as well as people. Starting the Movie quickly, I spoke as I set everything up.  
  
"Since I can't really begin to explain the nuances of English, I'll show you a well-written action movie from America that displays differences in European and American Dialects, stresses and enunciations in times of calm or action, and things like sarcasm, irony, and dumb humor."  
  
The class loved Die Hard.  
  
I was watching the schoolyard, wondering why they didn't have rice-crispy treats in the vending machines, when Captain Archer appeared behind me. Typically, this wouldn't have been much of a problem, but my wondering wasn't done before the vending machines. Archer had appeared in the middle of the schoolyard, and now, everyone stared as he saluted me and began speaking rapidly.  
  
"Lord Kyle! Lady Makoto's communicator went off, and it appears her friends need her assistance as soon as possible. They're going to try to bring her through now, and were very insistent!"  
  
Ami? Insistent? Who'd have thought it?  
  
"SHODAN, Three up, Makoto won't complain." I said. Quietly, I muttered to myself "I hope..."  
  
After I'd disappeared the schoolyard silently stared at the ground I'd been standing on moments before... Finally, Tatewaki Kuno stepped forward, and held his bokken high.  
  
"Alas, none shall contest that I, The Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, have vanquished the foul Magus from-"  
  
The rest of his speech, however, was cut off as a green bolt from the sky turned the Blue Thunder into a blackened, man-shaped matchstick. Without Nabiki around to drag him to the Nurse's Office, the Blue Thunder spent the rest of the afternoon snoozing in the crater the light turbolaser had blasted into the sand.  
  
Appearing upon the bridge, I jumped back as the wall flickered to life and Sailor Moon's tear-streaked face appeared.  
  
"Mako-chan, if you can hear this, get ready... I don't know how well this will work, but we need you!"  
  
"Usagi?" Makoto asked, her face paling. The screen went blank, and suddenly SHODAN's face replaced the upset Senshi, a scowl on her face.  
  
"Unknown energy output from Communicator/Henshin Stick. Commencing Full sensor scan, and Retrieval of Subject: Mara."  
  
The air beside us shimmered, but Mara failed to appear. Then the lights dimmed, and half the consoles on the bridge went dead.  
  
"The hell?" I asked, my thoughts echoed quietly throughout the bridge. Suddenly, there was a loud pop, and Mara appeared beside me, a bottle of Sake in one hand, and a big frown on her face.  
  
"What the hell is the big..." her anger gave way to surprise when she looked out the forward view port and to the stars, beyond.  
  
"Mara, glad you could make it." I said, watching as the various disabled consoles began powering back up. Apparently, pulling Mara back here had taken a lot more power than a standard human would require. As the lights went back to full output, I turned to see that Makoto had become Sailor Jupiter, without the use of her Henshin wand.  
  
" I dunno!" She said, in response to my raised brow. I was going to ask more, when I realized the air was feeling stuffy, and there was a noticeable static charge in the air.  
  
"Sensor grid failure at 75%. Hyperdrive Sensors indicate possible Shift in five, four, three, two-"  
  
As SHODAN counted down, the stars outside dimmed to blackness, and a steady rumble grew from beyond notice, to being too loud to notice anything else. I caught the look on my wife's face as SODAN'S countdown would have reached one, and suddenly there was a flash of white light, and I saw nothing else. 


End file.
